🏫 Schools in Australia
A selection of well-known selective public and independent private schools across Australia's biggest cities, organised by city.
⚠️ Education in Australia is administered separately by each state and territory. Details below are compiled from official school and public sources at the time of publishing — always confirm current information (enrolment zones, fees, admission tests) on the school's own website.
🏙️ Sydney4 schools
🏫 Sydney Boys High School
📍Moore Park, New South Wales
📅Founded 1883
Selective public high school (boys)
Australia's first state high school, established under the Public Instruction Act 1880; a highly academically selective school whose alumni include former Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
🏫 The King's School
📍North Parramatta, New South Wales
📅Founded 1831
Independent private school (boys)
Widely regarded as Australia's oldest independent school, with a large boarding program and a strong rugby tradition including numerous Wallabies alumni.
🏫 Sydney Grammar School
📍Darlinghurst, New South Wales
📅Founded 1857
Independent private school (boys)
A historically significant non-denominational day school known for its classical/liberal academic tradition and strong university entrance results.
🏫 St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill
📍Hunters Hill, New South Wales
📅Founded 1881
Catholic systemic/independent school (boys)
One of Australia's largest boarding schools, run in the Catholic tradition, with a strong rugby history including several Wallaby captains among its alumni.
🎭 Melbourne4 schools
🏫 Melbourne High School
📍South Yarra, Victoria
📅Founded 1905
Selective public high school (boys)
Victoria's first state secondary school and one of the state's most academically selective schools, with a long history of strong VCE results.
🏫 Mac.Robertson Girls' High School
📍Albert Park, Victoria
📅Founded 1934
Selective public high school (girls)
One of Victoria's four selective-entry government schools, noted for consistently top-ranked VCE results and highly competitive entrance testing.
🏫 Melbourne Grammar School
📍South Yarra, Victoria
📅Founded 1858
Independent private school (co-ed primary, boys secondary)
A historic Anglican grammar school that has educated three Australian Prime Ministers (Deakin, Bruce, Fraser) and competes in the world's longest-running annual school football fixture.
🏫 Xavier College
📍Kew, Victoria
📅Founded 1872 (foundation stone); classes from 1878
Catholic systemic/independent school (boys)
A prominent Jesuit school and part of the international Jesuit school network, known for strong academic results and notable alumni in politics, law, and public life.
☀️ Brisbane4 schools
🏫 Brisbane State High School
📍South Brisbane, Queensland
📅Founded 1921
Selective public high school (co-ed)
Queensland's first state secondary school, using selective entry criteria and regularly producing some of the state's top ATAR results.
🏫 Brisbane Grammar School
📍Spring Hill, Queensland
📅Founded 1868
Independent private school (boys)
The second-oldest secondary school in Queensland, established under the 1860 Grammar Schools Act, with a strong music and academic tradition.
🏫 Brisbane Girls Grammar School
📍Spring Hill, Queensland
📅Founded 1875
Independent private school (girls)
A pioneering girls' school founded before women could attend university in Sydney or Melbourne, long regarded as one of Queensland's leading academic schools for girls.
🏫 St Joseph's Nudgee College
📍Boondall, Queensland
📅Founded 1891
Catholic systemic/independent school (boys)
A historic Christian Brothers boarding and day school with a heritage-listed campus, known for strong academic, sporting, and boarding traditions.
🌅 Perth2 schools
🏫 Perth Modern School
📍Subiaco, Western Australia
📅Founded 1911
Selective public high school (co-ed)
Western Australia's only fully academically selective public school, and the state's oldest public and oldest co-educational high school.
🏫 Hale School
📍Wembley Downs, Western Australia
📅Founded 1858
Independent private school (boys)
A long-established Anglican day and boarding school regarded as one of Western Australia's oldest private schools, with a strong record of top-ranking academic results.
🍷 Adelaide4 schools
🏫 St Peter's College
📍Hackney, South Australia
📅Founded 1847
Independent private school (boys)
A historic Anglican school whose cricket rivalry with Prince Alfred College is one of the oldest continuous cricket fixtures in the world.
🏫 Prince Alfred College
📍Kent Town, South Australia
📅Founded 1867
Independent private school (boys)
A prominent Uniting Church school named for Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, with alumni including Rhodes Scholars, premiers, and business leaders.
🏫 Adelaide High School
📍Adelaide (West Terrace), South Australia
📅Founded 1908
Selective/special-entry public high school (co-ed)
Australia's first public secondary school, now South Australia's designated Special Interest Language School offering entry-tested language and sport programs.
🏫 Sacred Heart College
📍Somerton Park, South Australia
📅Founded 1897
Catholic systemic school (co-ed)
A long-established Marist Brothers school that became one of South Australia's largest Catholic co-educational secondary schools after going co-ed in 1977.
🏛️ Canberra3 schools
🏫 Canberra Grammar School
📍Red Hill, Australian Capital Territory
📅Founded 1929
Independent private school (co-ed)
A leading ACT independent school and the only one in the territory offering both the NSW HSC and the IB Diploma; alumnus Gough Whitlam later became Prime Minister.
🏫 Radford College
📍Bruce, Australian Capital Territory
📅Founded 1984
Independent private school (co-ed)
An Anglican-affiliated school that has repeatedly recorded the highest median ATAR among ACT schools in multiple years.
🏫 St Edmund's College
📍Griffith, Australian Capital Territory
📅Founded 1954
Catholic systemic school (boys)
The first Catholic secondary boys' college established in the ACT, with a strong rugby tradition and notable alumni including former Wallabies captain George Gregan.
🏔️ Hobart3 schools
🏫 The Hutchins School
📍Sandy Bay, Tasmania
📅Founded 1846
Independent private school (boys)
One of the oldest continuously operating schools in Australia, established as an Anglican boys' school in memory of the first Archdeacon of Van Diemen's Land.
🏫 The Friends' School
📍North Hobart, Tasmania
📅Founded 1887
Independent private school (co-ed)
A Quaker school described as the largest of its kind in the world, known for its progressive educational values.
🏫 St Mary's College
📍Hobart, Tasmania
📅Founded 1868
Catholic systemic/independent school (girls)
A long-established Presentation Sisters girls' school and member of the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australia.
🌴 Darwin3 schools
🏫 Darwin High School
📍The Gardens, Northern Territory
📅Founded 1921
Public high school (co-ed, senior secondary)
The Northern Territory's most prominent public senior secondary school, focused on Years 10-12 education.
🏫 St John's Catholic College
📍The Gardens, Northern Territory
📅Founded 1960
Catholic systemic school (co-ed)
A long-established Catholic secondary school affiliated with the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, formed from the merger of an earlier boys' college with a girls' Catholic school in 1975.
🏫 Haileybury Rendall School
📍Berrimah, Northern Territory
📅Founded 1968 (founded as Kormilda College)
Independent private school (co-ed)
Formerly Kormilda College, it runs Australia's largest Indigenous boarding program and is notable for using the Victorian Certificate of Education rather than the NT curriculum.