Best Schools in Melbourne (2025)

Zones & costs (how Melbourne enrolments actually work)

Victorian government placement follows the “nearest appropriate school” principle. Every address has a designated neighbourhood school that must offer a place. You can preference other schools, but out-of-zone offers only happen if there’s capacity after priority groups are satisfied.

Fees and extras: government tuition is free, but schools can request voluntary contributions and charge for optional items such as devices, camps, excursions and electives. Catholic and independent schools publish fee schedules that can differ sharply once levies and inclusions are counted, so always read the current campus PDF.

Commuting across Melbourne: when families end up unhappy with a school choice, it’s often the daily travel grind rather than learning quality. Walk or run the route at bell times. Rail spines and frequent tram corridors are usually the sanest way to keep the week manageable.

Best high schools in Melbourne (2025) – shortlist (A–Z)

These are the Melbourne high schools families most commonly shortlist in 2025. They’re not ranked here. Use them to plan tours and then confirm your address eligibility with the links further down.

Best primary schools in Melbourne (2025) – shortlist (A–Z)

Same idea as the high-school list: a practical starting set for tours and zoning checks, not a league table.

How to compare schools without getting lost in hype

Start with your non-negotiables: zone access, commute time, type of school and day-to-day feel. Do a daytime walk or drive past your shortlist, and if you’re new to the city, skim our Melbourne infrastructure, hospitals & transport guide so you understand the key train lines, hospital catchments and traffic pinch points.

Inner Melbourne & inner north (CBD edge, Parkville, Carlton, Fitzroy)

Prioritise tram/train access and do a bell-time walk on your likely commute. Inner zones can be tight, and capacity can change, so confirm your exact address on Find My School before you offer on a property.

Inner east (Kew, Hawthorn, Camberwell, Balwyn, Box Hill)

Many families shortlist zoned government schools here, so zone boundaries matter. Compare school fit and week-to-week logistics (before/after-school care, sport, tutoring, and traffic on key corridors).

South-east (Bentleigh, Carnegie, Oakleigh, Clayton, Glen Waverley)

Look for a suburb pocket that keeps both adult and student commutes predictable. If you’re balancing multiple campuses or workplaces, rail spines usually beat cross-town driving in peak hour.

West & growth corridors (Footscray, Sunshine, Point Cook, Tarneit, Werribee)

Factor in train line frequency and school capacity (growth areas can move fast). If you’re building a shortlist across several pockets, pick 2–3 suburbs per direction and tour efficiently over 2–3 weekends.

Popular family suburbs to compare in the west: Point Cook, Tarneit, Werribee and Hoppers Crossing. If you’re focusing on one side of the city, you can also jump to our best schools in Melbourne western suburbs (2025) guide.

Want help mapping budget to the west? Start with a suburb page: Mortgage Broker Point Cook, Mortgage Broker Tarneit, Mortgage Broker Werribee or Mortgage Broker Hoppers Crossing.

Bayside (Elwood, Brighton, Hampton, Sandringham)

Coastal pockets can mean higher prices but smoother week-to-week routines if you can stay close to schools and transport. Double-check zoning and the practical “daily run” (parking, drop-off, and sport training locations).

Numbers like VCE outcomes or NAPLAN context from My School are useful, but they don’t tell you whether your child will feel known, safe and stretched. Use the official data, then read school newsletters and tour notes alongside suburb guides such as our undervalued suburbs in Melbourne 2026 report to see how the broader area is changing.

If you’re buying, layer school research with a realistic borrowing range and deposit plan. Many families compare “buy in-zone now” with “rentvest near work and buy later”. Our rentvesting guide and rentvesting calculator can help you compare those options, and the First Home Buyer Guide plus our VIC grants explainer outline how schemes and stamp duty rules might shape your budget.

Official tools to verify zones and data

These are the sources families should check before locking in a shortlist:

Find My School (VIC) – neighbourhood school zones and address checks.
ACARA My School – profiles, enrolments, ICSEA and context data.
VCAA / Senior Secondary – VCE, VET and VM pathway info.

Next steps if you’re buying or moving zones

If your shortlist spans a few pockets of Melbourne, sketch two or three target suburbs in each direction (inner, middle and growth-corridor). Our Melbourne infrastructure, hospitals & transport guide and suburb reports such as Richmond and Yarraville give a feel for commute, vibe and local amenities around popular school zones.

Next, pressure-test the dollars. Use our borrowing power calculator, mortgage repayment calculator and Rate Review Calculator to see how different price ranges, deposits and interest rates look for your household. Pair this with the Home Loan Refinance Guide if you’re trading up, and our Home Loan Refinance Options page if you want to see the main paths side-by-side. If you’re starting out, use the First Home Buyer Guide instead.

If you’d like tailored help for a specific school zone or corridor, chat with our Melbourne mortgage broker team. We can map your budget to realistic suburbs, compare 35+ lenders and outline paths such as bridging loans, rentvesting or buying with a family guarantee. If you prefer to read first, the Home Loan Guide covers the process end-to-end in more detail.