Best girls' schools in Australia

Consistently top HSC results among Sydney girls' schools · Strong music and choral program · Sister school to Knox Grammar (joint events)

Dalton Plan progressive education methodology (one of few in Australia) · Top HSC results among Eastern Suburbs girls' schools · Strong rowing program on Sydney Harbour

Consistently top-five NSW HSC ranked school · Inner-city campus with strong creative arts focus · Progressive Anglican social-justice ethos

Strong VCE outcomes · Toorak elite community · Small boarding house with rural + international students

Australia's oldest girls' school (est. 1856) · Eastern Sydney harbour-adjacent campus · Strong HSC outcomes + drama tradition

Highest ICSEA in Victoria (1,210) · IB Diploma authorised since 1990, offered alongside VCE · Six-time consecutive Australian Schools' Chess Champions (2016-2021)

Non-denominational secular ethos · Strong VCE academic outcomes · Kew elite community

Top-ranked QLD academic results (ATAR + IB) · QGSSSA sport leader · Strong STEM + research culture

Strong HSC results + creative arts · North Sydney harbour-edge campus · Notable alumni: Quentin Bryce, Catherine Burn

Compulsory Year 9 residential at Howqua rural campus · IB Diploma offered alongside VCE · National-medal-winning rowing program (Head of the Yarra)

Among WA's highest ICSEA girls' schools · Three campuses (Mosman Park + Pemberton outdoor ed) · IGSSA sport + boarding from Year 7

ICSEA 1191 (around the 99th percentile nationally) makes Fintona one of the most socio-educationally advantaged schools in Australia · Independent, non-denominational girls' school founded 1896; deliberately small (~530-600 students ELC-12, roughly 7 students per teacher) and non-selective · Premium fees ($41,590 Year 12, 2026) with a distinctive single-stream, individualised model; ~58% of students have a language background other than English

Strong VCE academic outcomes · Personalised pastoral care · Eastern Melbourne girls school

IB Diploma alongside HSC · Loreto Sisters Mary Ward tradition · Sydney Harbour campus

All-inclusive fee (laptop, camps, QGSSSA sport) · Strong academic record - QLD top OP/ATAR results · International + STEM programs

Offers the full International Baccalaureate Diploma to all Years 11-12 as an alternative to the HSC; named No. 1 IB School in Australia in 2021 and a Top 50 Global IB School, with 70+ students achieving the perfect IB score of 45 since 2002 · ICSEA 1184 - the highest of these four schools and among the top girls' schools nationally; girls-only Pre-K to Year 12 · Founded 1886 to prepare girls for University of Sydney entry, one of the first Australian schools to offer girls the same education as boys; day-only since boarding closed in 1979 after a fire

First school in the world to introduce 1:1 laptops (1990) · Both VCE and IB Diploma pathways offered · Marshmead and Banksia outdoor education campuses

Mary Ward Loreto Sisters tradition · Boarding house for regional NSW · Strong HSC academic outcomes

Opus Dei Personal Prelature affiliated · Strong HSC academic outcomes · Single-sex Catholic girls north-west Sydney

Oldest secondary school in Brisbane · Strong academic + Mercy social-justice tradition · Very competitive fee for top-tier ICSEA

IB World School (PYP and Diploma) · Award-winning STEM and design programs · Strong music and dance co-curricular

IB Primary Years and HSC offered · Strong STEM and innovation program · AHIGS sport with elite rowing and aquatics

Year 13 gap-year style program · Up to 80 boarders · Round Square global member school

ICSEA 1178 puts Sacré Cœur among the most advantaged girls' schools in Victoria; it was the top-performing Catholic school in Victoria for VCE in 2022 · One of a global network of Sacred Heart (RSCJ/Sophie Barat) schools founded in France in 1800; small by design (~700 students) with a roughly 1:8 student-teacher ratio · Offers both the VCE and is known for a values-based 'Goals and Criteria' Sacred Heart education spanning Prep to Year 12 on the one Burke Road campus

Sister to Camberwell Grammar (boys) · Strong VCE outcomes · Eastern Melbourne Anglican girls

IB Primary Years Programme in Junior School · Approximately 65 boarders · Sibling discounts up to 30 percent for fourth child

IB Primary Years and Diploma Programmes · Strong STEM and performing arts focus · Founded by the Sisters of the Church

Mercy Sisters Catherine McAuley tradition · North Sydney harbour campus · Mid-fee Catholic girls option

Top-ranked Catholic girls' school by VCE (ranked 7th statewide in 2023) · One of the top school rowing programs nationally · Six consecutive GSV Athletics Championships (2014-2019); Positive Education curriculum

Baptist Christian girls school · Strong VCE outcomes · Canterbury campus