Richest parents at top schools in Bendigo revealed

Bendigo’s richest school parents have been revealed, with one private school’s median parent earnings coming in at more than $200,000. See who earns the most.

Bendigo’s richest parents at the poshest schools in town have been revealed.

Bendigo’s poshest parents can be revealed, with families at one school raking in more than $200,000, the Herald Sun can reveal.

Girton Grammar School parents earn $207,000 per year, making them the wealthiest in the region.

These parents will pay at least $175,000 to send their kids to Bendigo’s most elite private school from prep to Year 12, with 2024 fees set at $12,054 per year in the primary grades and $15,116 annually in high school.

Girton Grammar School. Picture: Supplied.

Despite having the richest parents, Girton Grammar – which brought in a gross income of $135.3m between 2018 and 2022 – was not the wealthiest school in the region.

That title goes to Catherine McAuley College, which made in the highest gross income of any school in the region, making a gross income $147.9m over a five-year period.

But CMC’s parents are only the third highest paid in the region, trailing far behind Girton and just behind Marist College families.

Marist College parents earn a median salary of $148,000 – $1000 more than those who choose to send their kids to CMC.

Catherine McAuley College. Picture: Supplied.

A secondary education for one child at CMC will set parents back $40,860.

For two or more kids it’ll be $81,720.

Meanwhile, Marist’s fees cost parents at least $24,064 per student for primary school and $38,012 for secondary, coming in at a total of $62,076 for a full 13 year education.

Victory Christian College families are the fourth poshest in Bendigo, with a median income of $134,000.

It costs VCC parents $48,130 for a full prep – 12 education for one child, $81,810 for two kids, and $96,260 for three kids.

Victory Christian College. Picture: Supplied.

VCC reported a $49.6m gross five year income, making it Bendigo’s ninth richest school.

It comes as VCC lodged a $50m master plan with the state government to build a new campus for 1100 new students as waiting lists to enrol kids at the school grow.

Coming in behind the rest was Creek St Christian College with a median family income of $116,000.

Including early learning for three and four year olds, a full primary and secondary education will set Creek St Christian College parents back $66,662.

The new federal figures are for median family incomes, which mean half of the annual family incomes of a school are lower, and the other half are higher.

Analysis by Save Our Schools, a state school funding lobby group, shows a number of the leading schools with the wealthiest parents are over funded by the federal government by more than $20m between 2022 and 2028.

The parental income figures are used in part to calculate school funding by the Commonwealth government, but Save Our Schools national convener Trevor Cobbold said the model was flawed because it did not take into account the incomes of many grandparents who pay school fees.

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