These schools threaten to topple Vic’s elite colleges in NAPLAN results
Victoria’s academic elite face an unexpected shake-up as several schools storm into the top 20 NAPLAN rankings, displacing established performers. SEE ALL THE RESULTS
Victoria’s academic heavyweights risk being overtaken as 2025 NAPLAN results show surging newcomers threatening to displace the state’s established elite.
A Herald Sun analysis revealed Melbourne’s four selective-entry high schools have maintained their position as the state’s best, outpacing prestigious colleges where some fees are more than $35,000 per year.
The 2025 NAPLAN results for each school were released on the My School website on Wednesday, nine months after students sat testing in March.
All-boys government secondary school Melbourne High which requires students to sit an entry exam, topped the ranks in Victoria once again, with an average Year 9 NAPLAN score of 717.8 – a 12.6 point improvement from 2024.
The achievement has cemented the school’s standing as the nation’s fifth highest-performing secondary institution, behind four elite Sydney government schools.
Victoria’s three other selective-entry schools Mac.Robertson Girls’ High, Nossal High and Suzanne Cory High rounded out the top four state secondary schools – all achieving average marks above 696.
While selective-entry schools held their ground, emerging leaders Wycheproof P-12 College, Brentwood Secondary College and Alamanda K-9 College entered the top 20 state high school list this year.
Their stellar scores bumped last year’s top 20 contenders Melbourne Girls’ College, Princes Hill Secondary College and Koonung Secondary College down the ranks, with all three recording a slight decrease in their average mark compared to 2024.
Despite their movement, these schools remained ahead of several elite private schools where fees are in the tens of thousands.
A 13.4 point increase in average results saw East Doncaster Secondary gain ground, with it now the sixth best public school in the state, behind steady achiever Glen Waverley Secondary College.
Based on their year 9 results, 26 government and nine Catholic institutions featured in the top 100 NAPLAN high school scores in the state.
As for private schools, Ballarat Clarendon College was the top independent institution in Victoria at both primary and secondary levels.
Year 9 students at the school achieved an average of 669.4, a slight 1.4 point decrease from 2024.
Ballarat Clarendon College principal Jen Bourke said she was “humbled” by the school’s results.
“Being identified as the top independent school in the state and the top school at primary level is certainly cause for community celebration,” she said.
“We are a proudly regional school and these results demonstrate what a thriving community like Ballarat can achieve.”
Ms Bourke said 100 per cent of their students participated in NAPLAN this year.
“As we are an independent school, some might wonder whether these outcomes are more a reflection of our intake than the work we do,” she said.
“That’s why we’re particularly pleased with the results that have been published today about student progress. They speak directly to the efforts of our students and teachers.”
Other top private school performers at the secondary level included Fintona Girls’ School, Camberwell Girls’ Grammar and Lighthouse Christian College Cranbourne, while Presbyterian Ladies’ College and Haileybury were top performers at both primary and secondary levels.
Meanwhile outstanding state primary schools included Oakleigh South Primary, Wheelers Hill Primary, Beverley Hills Primary, Serpell Primary and Canterbury Primary.
Education Minister Ben Carroll said the strong results were “vindication” for the government’s mandate for explicit instruction, which “leaves no one behind”.
“Today’s NAPLAN results are again vindication for Victoria being the education state with the world’s best teachers, the scientific evidence, we are making sure that no student, whatever their postcode goes without,” he said.
“To see across Australia, 40 schools identified in Victoria as being the outstanding performers across every single postcode of Melbourne, from diverse parts of the state … it’s just outstanding to see Victoria’s NAPLAN results and Victoria once again leading the nation.
“I think in education it is so critically important that you always have that focus on excellence and equity that everyone can fulfil their dreams and in the education state it’s more important than ever.
“But this does show that our teachers are doing a great job inside the classroom.”
Originally published as These schools threaten to topple Vic’s elite colleges in NAPLAN results
