The 100 schools offering the best primary education in the state

The top 100 primary schools in Victoria have been named, with many low-cost government schools outperforming elite private colleges. See the full list.

Camberwell grammar was the state's top primary school in the top 100 Better Education primary schools. Picture: Supplied

Victorian families are getting their hands on high-quality education for a fraction of the price, with almost half of the state’s top 100 primary institutions being low-fee government schools.

A total 49 public education providers were among the top 100 primary schools in the state, with some outranking elite private colleges that sets parents back tens of thousands of dollars each year.

Serpell Primary, Oakleigh South Primary and Beverley Hills Primary were among seven government primary schools that achieved perfect percentiles of 100 on the 2024 Better Education top primary school ratings.

The school directory and education website takes into account academic performance across English and maths when determining a school’s overall score.

It also looks at the socio-economic status of the student population.

Rather than a rank, the overall score is an index of performance and the best score is 100 while the worst is 60.

The three top-performing primary schools were all combined elite colleges that offer classes for students from prep to Year 12.

All-boys school Camberwell Grammar – where fees range from $23,742 a year for pre-prep to $36,889 for a grade six student annually – was the state’s top-performing primary school, achieving a perfect score of 100 per cent.

Haileybury was one private school to make the top 100 Better Education primary schools. Picture: Supplied

Co-educational private institutions Haileybury College and Ballarat Clarendon College came in at a near second and third, with both schools also achieving 100 per cent.

A number of single-sex schools also dominated with perfect percentiles including all-girls schools Presbyterian Ladies’ College, Camberwell Girls Grammar School, Korowa Anglican Girls’ School and Fintona Girls’ School.

Boys’ schools Trinity Grammar and Scotch College – where grade six fees are as much as $37,888 and $39,258 respectively – also achieved scores in the same ballpark.

Meanwhile, government schools including Doncaster Primary, Camberwell Primary and Preston West achieved the same ranking as private schools to the likes of Mentone Girls’ Grammar, Ruyton Girls’ School and Carey Baptist Grammar.

A total 29 government schools also outperformed 15 elite private schools including Xavier College, St Kevin’s College, Penleigh and Essendon Grammar, Bacchus Marsh Grammar, Loreto Mandeville Hall and Geelong Grammar – which all scored percentiles of 98.

This includes Vermont Primary (100), Birralee Primary (99), Kerrimuir Primary, Glendal Primary (99) Glen Huntly Primary (99), Canterbury Primary (99) and Templeton Primary (99), among a spate of others.

Presbyterian Ladies College was one all-girls school to make the top 100 Better Education primary schools. Picture: Supplied

Due to being government schools, parents are encouraged to pay a voluntary contribution to the school rather than thousands of dollars in hefty fees.

These contributions could be as low as $100 for school resources, with additional expenses to cover sports events, laptops, and other extra-curricular activities.

Several religious schools also made their mark in the top 100 primary schools in the state, including St Andrews Christian College (100), Lighthouse Christian College Cranbourne (100), Sacred Heart School in Kew (99), St Christopher’s School in Glen Waverley (99), St Catherine’s School in Toorak (99) and St Anne’s Parish School (99).

Better Education is an independently-run website that aims to provide “informative and comparative school results, including school rankings or ratings and lists of best performing schools” to help parents make the best choice about schooling for their children.

Top five standout schools with low fees

Serpell Primary School

Based 15km east of Melbourne in the suburb of Templestowe, Serpell Primary school is home to 1233 students.

The school has climbed up the ladder becoming the fifth best primary school in the state, after placing seventh in 2023.

Serpell Primary School was also one of Victoria’s top-performing government primary schools in NAPLAN last year, after achieving the ninth highest Grade 5 average score in the state.

Students performed best in numeracy with an average score of 596, followed by grammar at 592 and reading at 578.

Parents pay a voluntary contribution of $200 to send their children to the school, with this cost covering stationery supplies used in class.

Other extra-curricular activities including senior sports and excursion levies come at additional costs.

Serpell Primary School was the top-performing government school in the state in 2024.

Oakleigh South Primary School

For families living in the state’s southeastern suburbs, Oakleigh South Primary School is one of the leading primary schools in the area.

Last year, Oakleigh South Primary outperformed prestigious private institutions including Kilvington Grammar and Huntingtower School in Better Education’s top 100 primary schools.

It’s the state’s second top-performing government primary school behind Serpell Primary, and currently teaches 1048 eager students.

In terms of NAPLAN results, the school also achieved a Grade 5 average that placed it in the top 10 primary schools last year, with grammar being its best subject area.

Parent payments start from $436.80 for prep students, with this covering curriculum contributions, book packs, special events, subject expenses, online learning and extra-curricular activities, with fees slightly varying depending on the year level.

Oakleigh South Primary School was another top-performing state school, where fees are as low as $436. Picture: Wayne Taylor

St Andrews Christian College

For parents wishing to give their children the opportunity to experience private education without having to pay tens of thousands of dollars each year, St Andrews Christian College offers just that.

While fees are significantly higher than government schooling and start from $9690 per year for prep students, the religious school is on the more affordable end compared to elite colleges such as Camberwell Grammar and Haileybury College.

St Andrews Christian College in Wantirna South was the state’s eighth best performing school in NAPLAN last year after achieving a Grade 5 average of 580, with numeracy being the school’s best subject.

Led by principal Nick Haines, the school offers a dynamic curriculum with state-of-the-art facilities, making it one of the country’s leading Christian colleges.

St Andrews Christian College was among the faith-based primary schools that made the top 100 list.

Sacred Heart School

For parents after top-quality Catholic education at an affordable price, Sacred Heart School in Kew is an accessible alternative to elite private schools in the area of the same faith.

The school’s basic fees start from $2750 for one child annually, and can be as much as $4700 depending on the students’ year level with additional levy costs.

Sacred Heart School just scraped in as the state’s 50th best primary school for NAPLAN results last year, with its Grade 5 students obtaining an average of 554.

Numeracy was the best subject at the school, followed by grammar and spelling.

The Catholic primary school had 190 students and 19 teaching staff last year, so also offers the bonus of smaller class sizes.

Catholic school Sacred Heart College Kew also made the top 100. Picture: Supplied

Bacchus Marsh Grammar

Families in Melbourne’s western suburbs don’t have to go to the other side of the city to find quality education, with Bacchus Marsh Grammar offering students the opportunity to access private schooling in suburbs including Bacchus Marsh, Rockbank and Staughton Vale.

The school offers independent education at half of the price of elite schools in the state’s southeast and east including Kilvington Grammar and Yarra Valley Grammar, where Prep fees start from $14,708 and $18,056 respectively.

Bacchus Marsh Grammar was among the top-performing private primary schools in the state’s west in NAPLAN last year, behind Westbourne Grammar, with Grade 5 students doing their best in grammar and numeracy.

More than 3500 students were taught across the combined schools’ three campuses last year, with fees starting from $7307 for prep and increasing to $14,709 for Year 12.

The school scraped in as the state’s 91st best school in the state on the Better Education top 100.

Originally published as The 100 schools offering the best primary education in the state