The municipality of Stonnington has garnered notoriety for its family centric amenities and high density of esteemed schooling opportunities.
Selecting primary and secondary education requires consideration of multiple facets within an institution. As such, we have outlined the mission statements, curriculum, and results of five different private schools in the area to aid decision making.
Girls Schools
St Catherine’s School (Toorak)
Ranked as the #1 girls’ school in Victoria, St Catherine’s boasts a median ATAR of 92.1 and is located at 17 Heyington Place in Toorak, just steps from Toorak Road trams and Heyington station.
Principle Michelle Carroll states, “our outstanding VCE results in 2021, are testament to this targeted program and the exceptional academic care our teachers provide to every student, particularly during the challenges of the COVID pandemic over the past two years.”
It is widely renowned for its sporting opportunities, with St Catherine’s rowing team winning the Prince Phillip Challenge Trophy at the Henley Royal Regatta in the UK just recently.
St Catherine’s focuses on smaller class sizes, and caters to all year levels from Early Learning through to Year 12, as well as providing options for both casual and full time boarding.
https://www.stcatherines.net.au/
Melbourne Girls Grammar School (South Yarra)
A leader in girls’ education since 1893, MGGS has built an outstanding reputation for excellence, enabling students to develop with confidence and independence.
According to the Principle Dr Toni Meath, Melbourne Girls Grammar School “promotes a progressive, contemporary community of practice committed to providing personalised high quality curriculum, wellbeing and co-curricular programs that enable lifelong learning for every student.”
Located at 86 Anderson Street, South Yarra on the Botanic Gardens, MGGS caters for approximately 1,010 students from Early Learning to Year 12, including around 90 boarders.
Students have access to an extensive curriculum and VCE offering, with over 55 different elective courses form Year 9 – Year 12. MGGS delivered a median ATAR of 90.6 for 2021.
Lauriston Girls’ School (Armadale)
Lauriston is an all girls school that prides themselves on embracing individuality and nurturing empathy and a sense of community.
Offering education from Early Learning Kindergarten to Year 12, two to three year levels are grouped together within a different area of the campus at a time. An entire year is spent at their Howqua campus during Year 9 which is designed to foster strength, independence, and resilience in the Victorian High Country, with a focus on minimal technology use.
Offering both VCE and IB, a combined result between the two courses currently yields a median ATAR of 95.2, with a third of their students selecting IB in 2021.
Lauriston’s core values are centered around relationships, courage, creativity, intellectual curiosity and engagement in life.
https://www.lauriston.vic.edu.au/
Loreto Mandeville Hall
Loreto Mandeville Hall is an IB World School that offers a holistic education to young women from across Melbourne.
LMH’s Vision Statement is “Educating Women of the Future: Strive, Lead, Serve” and its Mission Statement is “Loreto Mandeville Hall seeks to nurture young women to strive for personal excellence, lead with courage and compassion, and serve others in justice and truth.”
The school is located at 55 Mandeville Crescent in Wheelers Hill and provides education from Early Learning to Year 12, including a boarding house for students in Years 7 – 12.
In 2021, the median ATAR was 93.7 with 41% of students taking the IB program.
https://www.loreto.vic.edu.au/mandeville-hall/
Sacre Coeur
Sacre Coeur is a Catholic girls’ school located in Glen Iris, Melbourne.
The school’s motto is ‘Live, Love, Learn’ and its values are Compassion, Justice, Respect and Truth.
Sacre Coeur offers education from Early Learning to Year 12, with around 1,000 students enrolled. The school has a strong focus on academic excellence, with a median ATAR of 93.1 in 2021.
Sacre Coeur provides education from Early Learning to Year 12 and offers both the VCE and IB programs. In 2021, the median ATAR was 92.8 with 38% of students taking the IB program.
https://www.sacrecoeur.vic.edu.au/
Boys Schools
Scotch College (Hawthorn)
Scotch College in Hawthorn is a private boy's school with an enrolment of approximately 1,200 students from Prep to Year 12.
Founded in 1852, Scotch College is one of the oldest schools in Victoria, located on one campus in the city center. The school’s magnificent gardens stretch across 27 hectares, which are bordered by the Yarra River, and the school has one main objective – to develop every student to his fullest potential.
The school's motto is "Virtue, Honour, Glory".
The Average ATAR in 2021 was 93.5.
Melbourne Grammar School (South Yarra)
Melbourne Grammar School (MGS) is an Australian independent Anglican day and boarding school. It consists of a co-educational prep school (Prep to Year 6) and a separate junior school and senior school for girls (Years 7 to 13). The three campuses are Grimwade House (Prep to Year 6) in Caulfield, Wadhurst (Years 7 and 8) and Senior School (Years 9 to 12), both in the suburb of South Yarra, located opposite the Royal Botanical Gardens.
Founded on 7 April 1858 as the Melbourne Church of England Grammar School, the school currently caters for approximately 1,800 students from Prep to Year 12, including 120 boarders from Years 7 to 12.
In 2021 MGS achieved a median atar of 91.7, with a total of 562 students taking part in the VCE exams.
St Kevin’s College (Toorak)
St Kevin’s College is a catholic boys school located along the Yarra River at 21 Moonga Road, Toorak. They have approximately 2,100 students, and their mission is to “strive for the development of the whole person integrating spiritual development, academic success, cultural awareness and sporting participation in the context of the Catholic tradition.”
St Kevin’s College is a senior school campus offering education from Year 7 – Year 12, with a separate Junior School Campus ‘Glendalough’ offering Prep – Year 6 at 75 Lansell Road, Toorak.
Year 9 students attend a separate site for the whole year, located at their Waterford campus. During this time, students are offered additional studies including Forensic Science, Visual Art and Music, Drama, Digital Technologies and Creative Writing.
St Kevin’s College generated a median ATAR of 85.85 in 2021.
https://www.stkevins.vic.edu.au/
Coed Schools
Geelong Grammar School (Toorak & Geelong)
Geelong Grammar School in Toorak offers education from Prep to Year 6, with a strong emphasis on academics.
With over 500 years of history, Geelong Grammar School is one of Australia’s most prestigious independent day schools. It is situated on a beautiful tree-lined campus overlooking the bay.
Students enjoy a broad curriculum, with opportunities to study an array of subjects.
Geelong Grammars primary school is in Wallace Avenue, Toorak offering education from prep to Year 6.
High school from years 6 to 12 is based in the heart of Geelong at the historic Old Geelong Gaol.
In 2020, the average ATAR was 97.1.
Geelong Grammar has a boarding facility that is second to none.
Wesley College
Wesley College is an independent, co-educational, open-entry private school located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1867, Wesley College is the oldest school in Melbourne to offer International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes from pre-school to Year 12.
The college has three main metropolitan campuses in Victoria (St Kilda Road Campus, Glen Waverley Campus, & Elstertanwelk Campus), boarding facilities at Glen Waverley, three outdoor education sites (Campbelltown, Mallana, & Chum Creek), a year 9 residential school in Clunes, and the Wesley Studio School (Yirramalai).
Wesley was the first registered school in Australia and is a founding member of the Associated Public Schools of Victoria (APS). The college currently enrols more than 1,500 students across all its campuses.
The median ATAR in 2021 was 86.85.
https://www.wesleycollege.edu.au
Caulfield Grammar School
Caufield Grammar school is an independent, co-educational, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Australia.
The school offers a broad curriculum from prep to year 12 across its three campuses: Wheelers Hill (Preparatory and Senior), St Kilda Rd (Secondary) and Caulfield (Early Learning to Year 12).
Caulfield Grammar has a strong focus on academic excellence, with students consistently achieving excellent results in their VCE exams.
The school also offers a range of extracurricular activities and sports programs.
In 2021, the median ATAR was 92.7.
https://www.caulfieldgrammar.vic.edu.au/
