Single-sex schools as Australia’s top 100 private schools named

The official ranking of Australia’s Top 100 Private Schools has been released, revealing a significant trend.

The official ranking of Australia’s Top 100 Private Schools has been released, revealing a significant trend: single-sex schools are leading the charge across the nation

A staggering eight of the top 20 schools are all-boys, and ten are all-girls. Only two coeducational schools, Haileybury and St Leonard’s College, both in Victoria, have made it into the top ten.

This dominance by single-sex schools is no surprise to Loren Bridge, regional executive director of the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools.

“Despite debates about coeducation versus single-sex education, the data continues to back what many educators and parents already see first-hand – girls’ schools are consistently punching above their weight,” Ms Bridge said.

Australia’s Top 100 Private Schools is the ultimate ranking of the country’s best fee-paying institutions, with those making the highly coveted list not only featured due to their world-class academic performance.

Instead, the nation’s very best are ranked as the result of rigorous analysis of over 20 metrics, including campus facilities, student-teacher ratios and funding levels – as well as their breadth of subjects, sports and extra-curricular activities.

Read the full list of Australia’s Top 100 Private Schools here.

Here’s how each state fared:

New South Wales

The best private school in the country was one of 25 NSW schools featured on the top 100 list, with a single-sex schools largely coming out on top.

Sydney Church of England Girls’ Grammar School, better known as SCEGGS, featured alongside Presbyterian Ladies’ College (PLC Sydney) in Croydon, Abbotsleigh in Wahroonga and Pymble Ladies’ College.

Margery Evans, CEO of Independent Schools Australia. Picture: Supplied

Association of Independent Schools NSW chief executive Margery Evans was unsurprised to find so many Sydney schools ranked among Australia best.

“The quality of education in the independent sector in New South Wales is excellent … there’s great diversity,” she said.

Read the full list of NSW institutions featured in Australia’s Top 100 private schools now.

Victoria

When it came to Victoria, it was elite private school Haileybury College featured high in the list with 25 other schools from across the state.

Haileybury principal and chief executive Derek Scott has been at the helm since 2007, where he’s been focused on evidence-based teaching practices, particularly in literacy and numeracy.

Haileybury College was one of 25 Victorian schools to make the list. Picture: Supplied

He shared, “Beyond that, I also wanted to create a school culture where both staff and students were always looking upwards and outwards, towards all the opportunities in front of them.

Read the full list of Victorian institutions featured in Australia’s Top 100 private schools now.

Queensland

In Queensland, Brisbane Girls Grammar School (BGGS) principal labelled it an “incredible honour” to be featured on the list.

Brisbane Girls Grammar School named top school. Brisbane Girls Grammar School Principal Jacinda Euler-Walsh with Year 8 students Cleo Leck, Arabella Rafiee and Olivia Chen. Picture: Nigel Hallett

The all-girls school was one of 20 Queensland institutions to make the top 100, with principal Ms Euler Welsh said the diverse range of options at Brisbane Girls Grammar was an “incredibly exciting thing”.

“The other bit, I think that’s probably one of the signature strengths in the school, is just that spirit and energy that comes from having a whole lot of girls who, in the main, are incredibly excited about learning,” she added.

Read the full list of Queensland institutions featured in Australia’s Top 100 private schools now.

South Australia

Bucking the trend, it was co-ed in South Australia leading the charge. Scotch College was one of 20 schools featured on Australia’s Top 100 Schools.

Scotch College principal Trent Driver said hosting global conferences for students and teachers to sharing ideas with their counterparts at a sister school in Vietnam has helped give students a global perspective.

He added that the approach arms students at the elite private school to hold the “capacity to imagine and lead change in their communities in years to come”.

Read the full list of South Australian institutions featured in Australia’s Top 100 private schools now.

Originally published as Single-sex schools as Australia’s top 100 private schools named