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Girls are more likely to find places at Melbourne’s in-demand schools than boys in 2027, as parents begin confirming their children’s places for next year’s school intake.
Of Melbourne’s private schools with fees of $30,000 or more a year, parents have seven all boys’ schools to choose from, while there are more than a dozen girls-only schools in the high-fee bracket. There are also at least 10 coeducational high-fee schools.
The smaller number of boys’ schools means parents generally can only secure a place at a private boys’ or co-ed school if they apply to have their son accepted years in advance.
“Boys are much harder to place than girls,” said Paul O’Shannassy of Regent Consulting, which helps match families with suitable schools.
Many families put their children down as soon as they are born, often at multiple schools, but O’Shannassy pointed out capacity can fluctuate with birth rates, the economy and school reputations at the time.
Melbourne Grammar headmaster Philip Grutzner said the school receives applications for year 7 from birth. However, applications could be received up to the time of a place being offered, which varied from one to three years out from commencement.
“While the school encourages families considering year 7 entry to submit an application as early as possible, applications are received and considered from a range of ages and stages.”
All-girls schools such as Methodist Ladies’ College also require parents to put girls on the waiting list years in advance, with the school currently contacting families for 2029 and offering places.
“We are seeing very strong demand across all our major intake years, with applications typically received several years in advance, and waiting lists are currently in place for the coming years,” said MLC community engagement director Aimee Suchard-Lowe.
The school is non-selective, meaning it doesn’t enrol students based on academic achievement, and most families are placed on the waiting list in the order of their application data.
“Families connected to the college, such as siblings of current students, daughters and nieces of alumnae and children of staff, receive an adjustment to their position on the waitlist, equivalent to up to two years,” Suchard-Lowe said.
For girls, O’Shannassy said enrolments were generally more difficult to secure at co-ed schools, but “the opportunities are far greater for girls at both girls’ schools and co-ed schools”.
Mentone Girls’ Grammar principal Lauren Perfect said the school currently had availability for its year 7 intake for 2027, but there would be a wait list beyond the middle of the year when the school determined how many classes it would offer.
The girls’ school is located in a competitive pocket, with a nearby private co-ed school, a girls’ secondary college, a Catholic all-boys school and several other private schools all in the Bayside area.
“It’s an all-girls environment all the way from three-year-old kindergarten up to year 12,” Perfect said of how the school distinguished itself from others.
“We know that research demonstrates time and time again that girls who learn in an all-girls environment feel a greater sense of self-confidence, have a greater sense of ambition and belief in themselves in what they can achieve, and they experience unrivalled opportunity.”
One area of growth has been the school’s early learning centre, which has had double the number of inquiries in the past year compared with the year before. Perfect said this followed child safety concerns in the sector.
“Families who visit and are with us there talk about that sense of calm in the early learning centre as opposed to some other centres.”
Many high-fee co-ed schools also have waiting lists for several years ahead. However, some low- and mid-fee private schools have limited availability ahead of 2027. Southern Cross Grammar – where fees are $12,400 for year 7 – has two student places available before it reaches its limits for next year and applicants are put on a waiting list.
Progressive school Cornish College near Carrum charges $22,665 for year 7 and expects enrolments for next year to be full in the coming weeks.
The primary and secondary co-ed school, which is located on 40 acres of parkland, has grown by about 150 students in the past decade, but principal Nicola Forrest said further growth would be limited.
“We don’t believe in exponential growth, we don’t believe that’s what the world needs, whether that be in nature or anywhere else,” she said.
She encouraged families to apply to the waiting list given a handful of students do not commence for reasons such as parents relocating for work. The school has a legal exemption to select students to fulfil its gender ratios.
“[In] Some year levels, the 60 per cent is girls, and others it’s boys,” Forrest said.
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Jackson Graham is an education reporter at The Age. He was previously an explainer reporter.Connect via email.From our partners
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