What you’ll pay to send your kids to Melbourne’s top private schools
After reaping millions in JobKeeper, Melbourne’s private schools have released their fees for 2022, with some charging up to $74,000 per year.
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Private schools are billing families for term one as they grapple with how much to charge for 2022 after two years of Covid pandemic interruptions.
Prestigious Wesley College is yet to settle on fees for 2022, telling parents they can pay the same as 2021 for the first half of the year until it completes a review.
The school will let families know by the April billing cycle how much attendance at the school for second semester will cost.
Based on existing fees and charges the cost of sending a Year 12 student to Wesley for the first half of 2022 will be $37,540 made up of $34,610 fees plus a $1000 infrastructure levy and $1930 consolidated levy.
Many schools are yet to share their fees on their websites although families have already been billed for the first term of 2022.
Some schools offered across the board fee reductions and rebates or reductions upon application to the school over the past 18 months.
As many as 40 Victorian private schools received JobKeeper payments of $135m after they were able to defer fees and meet the 30 per cent drop in income payment threshold.
WESLEY COLLEGE
Primary campuses in St Kilda Road and Glen Waverley with Year 9 retreat in Clunes.
Early learning centre is $20,440 with prep to Year 3 is $23,110.
Year 7 $29,220 increasing to $34,610 from Year 10 to Year 12.
An infrastructure levy is payable in two, half yearly instalments.
A notebook computer is provided for Years Prep-12 students.
The annual fee is $1000 for Year 7-12 and $1500 for international students.
A consolidated charge, payable in two instalments, covers some excursions, library resources, the College diary and yearbook, some textbooks in early years and some stationery.
From Prep to Year 3 it is $910, Year 4 $1,260 and Years 5-12 $1,930.
Weekly boarding is $22,000 and full time boarding $27,000 per year.
The Year 9 Clunes program is $4800 for eight weeks.
An International Student Levy payable in two, half yearly instalments of $4,500 applies to all Temporary Resident students per family.
GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL
Senior school tuition and day boarding for Year 10 to 12 at Corio, Geelong, costs $43,660 up from $42,500 in 2021.
This includes tuition, buses for official school events, lunch, and dinner and the school magazine.
It does not include music lessons, instrument hire, additional tutoring, commuter buses, school diary, camps, booklists, notebook computers, software, International Baccalaureate (IB) charges and items of a personal nature.
Full boarding, with similar inclusions and exclusions, costs $74,110.
Timbertop, the Year 9 getaway famously attended by Prince Charles, costs $74,110 up from $72,040.
It does not include lessons, instrument hire, additional tutoring, skiing, commuter buses, booklists, software, Bogong trip, satellite tracker, technology levy, and items of a personal nature.
Day students at Geelong Grammar pay $31,596 in Year 5-6 and $35,990 in Year 7-8 Weekly boarding for Year 7-8 is $60,656 and $70,532 for full time boarding.
SCOTCH COLLEGE
After announcing in 2020 that is was freezing fees to provide certainty for families amid the pandemic, the school has increased the fee for Year 9-12 from $35,925 to $36,825.
Prep and Year 1 is $29,448 ($28,728), jumping to $31,548 ($30,777) for Year 3-6 and $35,825 ($34,476) for Year 7-8.
Local boarders pay $29,262 ($28,548) and international boarding students in Year 9-12 $81,812. ($80,000)
International students who don’t board pay $52,550 in Year 9-12. ($50,000)
MLC
Kew girls’ schools MLC will charge $20,400 for prep increasing to $30,210 at Year 6.
Year 7 starts at $31,050 with Year 11/12 $34,200.
Studying the International Baccalaureate, a VCE alternative, incurs an $1875 fee.
Boarding for local students is $31,050 in addition to tuition. International full fee students pay $47,910 tuition at VCE level. A technology levy from $360 at prep increased to $1110 at Year 7-12 is levied.
Year 9 students pay $4900 for the Marshmead, at Mallacoota, for a term.
TRINITY GRAMMAR
Prep fees are $24,556 rising to $31,696 at Year 4 to 5.
Years 7-8 $34,396 increasing at Years 9-10 to $35,496 at VCE level $35,972
The boarding fee $29,952 on top of tuition.
MELBOURNE GIRLS GRAMMAR
It costs $37,484 to send a girls for Year 11/12 to the South Yarra school headed by former Mac.Robertson Girls High principal Dr Toni Meath.
In 2021 fees for years 11-12 are $36,784. $33,288 for year 7 and $23,960 for Prep.
In 2022 preps start at $24,416 tipping over the $30,000 mark at Year 5-6 when fees are $31,800.
Fees hit $35,024 by Year 8, $36, 628 by Year 9/10 and $37,484 for VCE years.
Boarding for years 7-12 is an additional $28,228 up from $26,684 for 2021.
ST LEONARD’S COLLEGE
St Leonard’s provides a table on its website so people can compare 2021 and 2022 fees.
Year 12 level parents paid $33,351 in 2021 and the new fee for 2022 is up $1001 to $34,352.
Fees for Year 11 are $34,816 up from $33,802.
Year 7-8 is $31,578, up from $30,658 in 2021.
Prep starts at $20, 164 ($19,577), jumping to $22,916 ($22,249) for years 1-2.
Parents shell out $25,691 ($24,943) for Year 3-4 and $27,805 ($26,995) at Year 5-6.
SACRE COEUR
As part of a review of the Catholic girls’ school it was decided to phase in half price fees for early years from prep to Year 4. Typical entry points for many schools are Year 5 and Year 7 but this plan is designed at getting girls in earlier.
Some local feeder primary schools were underwhelmed. An extra prep class is being added in 2022.
Prep will be $4905, Year 1 $5190, and Year 2 $5245. The prep discount started in 2020 and will be fully rolled out by 2024.
The half price fees are still to be phased in at Year 3 where fees will be $12,335.
Fees hit $20,640 at Year 5-6, $24,425 at Year 7 and $28,065 at VCE.
A compulsory building levy, the amount undisclosed on the website, is levied four times a year.
HAILEYBURY COLLEGE
Prep at the high achieving schools jumps from $19,425 to $20,010 in 2022.
The school, which has sites in the city, Keysborough, Darwin, Brighton and Berwick levies the same fee from Year 9 to 12. In 2021 it was $33,560 and will jump to $34,570 in 2022.
Year 5 and 6 will go from $28,800 to $29,665 and Year 7 and 8 from $33,215 to $34,215.
From Year 5 to 9 students pay $650 per year over three years to participate in the managed device program.
ST MICHAEL’S GRAMMAR
Kinder fee is $21,228 but paid upfront it is $20,592.
By Year 3 fee is $28,296 reaching $31,836 by Year 6.
Year 9 fee is $34,548 lifting to $34,704 in Year 11 and dropping to $34,140 in Year 12.
The advertised fees include a tuition fee and a levy for maintenance and upkeep of the facilities, computer network and provision of the School’s compulsory Outdoor Education Program.
BRIGHTON GRAMMAR
Brighton Grammar charges a fee and a compulsory charge ranging from $800 to $3350 to cover excursions, incursions, school photographs and similar commitments.
In prep, parents are paying $24,083 inclusive of the consolidated charge of $800.
By Year 5 fees top $31,575, reaching $32,395 by Year 6.
Fees in Year 7-8 are $34,737 topping $36,837 in Year 9 which is typically busy year with camps and excursions.
Year 12 fees are $34,737 and $48,213 for international students.
FIRBANK GRAMMAR
Prep fees are $18,165, increasing to $26,624 by Year 5-6. Year 7 is 29,757 7, Years 9-11 $33,254 and Year 12 $33,546. The boarding fee is $29,606.