Most Expensive School in Melbourne (2026): Fees by Year

Of the nine Melbourne schools whose own 2026 fee schedules we read, St Catherine's (Toorak) adds up to the highest bill in Year 7 ($47,740), in Year 12 ($49,300) and across the six years between them ($294,360). The dearest single year at any of them is Melbourne Grammar's Year 10, at $52,255; that year's consolidated charge includes the compulsory Beyond the Gates program. Each figure is what the school's schedule bills a day-student family for 2026, with every compulsory charge the school prints added in. Where a school prints tuition only, the table and charts say so, and its real bill is a little higher.

The short answer. Year 7: St Catherine's, $47,740. Year 12: St Catherine's, $49,300. Six years: St Catherine's, $294,360. Dearest single year: Melbourne Grammar, Year 10, $52,255. Wesley College, Haileybury, MLC and PLC are not in these figures, so read their current schedules beside this page.

Key takeaways

• St Catherine's adds up to the highest bill of the nine at Year 7 ($47,740), Year 12 ($49,300) and over six years ($294,360). Its Year 9 is $51,660, because its composite fee steps up to $6,500 that year.
• The dearest year is usually Year 9 or Year 10, not Year 12. At four of the five schools that print a full compulsory total (St Catherine's, Melbourne Grammar, Carey and Caulfield), the peak lands in Year 9 or Year 10, the year the camp, residential or program charge arrives.
• Four schools print tuition only, so their real bills are higher than shown. Lauriston, Melbourne Girls Grammar, Scotch and Trinity bill camps, devices and other extras on top. Trinity's Year 7 camp and laptop alone add about $2,484 to its $43,064 fee.
• The advertised fee is often not the fee billed. Lauriston lists $48,352 for Year 7 before government grants; families are billed $44,400. Scotch's Years 7–8 gross fee is $46,056 plus $1,932 payroll tax; families are billed $43,428 after grants.
• The five schools that print a full total span $31,791 over six years, from $262,569 at Caulfield Grammar to $294,360 at St Catherine's.

Year 7 and Year 12 at nine schools

Year 7 and Year 12 are the two figures parents compare most, so here they are side by side with the six-year total. These are 2026 day-student fees for domestic students, read from each school's own schedule in October 2026. Boarding is extra everywhere it is offered.

The Year 7 to Year 12 rise differs a lot by school. On the figures above, Melbourne Girls Grammar climbs 10.5% between Year 7 and Year 12 on tuition alone, while Xavier College moves only 1.6%.

The dearest year is not Year 12

A family that budgets from the Year 7 fee misses the step, because compulsory programs are billed in the consolidated or composite charge of the year they happen. Melbourne Grammar's Year 10 consolidated charge is $6,025 (Year 11's is $175), and the school's notice lists the Year 10 Beyond the Gates Program inside it. Carey's Year 10 consolidated fee is $6,200, which includes the $4,250 Carey Zero Program. St Catherine's composite fee peaks at $6,500 in Year 9.

Six years from Year 7 to Year 12

The six-year bill is each year's billed amount added up from the school's own schedule. It is the number to plan around, because a single year's fee hides the Year 9 and Year 10 step. Compare schools within a group: a school in the second group will cost more than its bar shows once camps and devices are added.

The working for every school is in the table below, so you can check any total.

Why the same school can show two different fees

Schools publish on different bases, and the difference between them is often larger than the difference between schools.

• Gross or net. Lauriston's schedule shows a gross Year 7 fee of $48,352, less $961 and $2,991 of government grants, for a net fee of $44,400. Scotch adds $1,932 of payroll tax to its gross fee and then deducts $4,560 of grants. The net figure is what a family is billed, so it is the one used here.
• Consolidated or composite charges. Several schools put camps, devices, taxes and levies into one charge that changes with the year level. Counted in, it moves a school several thousand dollars up or down the table.
• Tuition only. Four schools print a tuition figure and bill camps and devices separately. Ask each for a full-year estimate for the year your child starts.

Schools not in these figures

Wesley College, Haileybury, MLC and PLC are names many Melbourne families shortlist, and none is ranked here. Wesley publishes its fees on its own domestic-fees page, so read it beside this table. For Haileybury, ask admissions for its current schedule; our capital-cities guide lists its Year 7 tuition at $41,260 plus a device program billed separately.

MLC and PLC have already moved to 2027 schedules. MLC's 2027 tuition is $43,770 for Year 7 and $46,410 for Year 12, plus a $1,440 technology levy for Years 7–12 and a $1,010 Year 7 outdoor education charge. Its Year 7 tuition was $38,040 in 2025, a rise of 15% in two years, both from MLC's own schedules. PLC's fees page now carries its 2027 fee handbook. Scotch has published a 2027 scale in a new layout, so compare it only with Scotch's own 2026 sheet. If your child starts in 2027, read the 2027 schedule at each school before you decide.

How to choose between them

Start with fit, not price alone. These differ more between schools than their fees do:

• Gender model. Boys', girls', co-educational, or a parallel model. This is the first fork.
• Senior pathway. VCE, the International Baccalaureate, or both. Ask each school which it offers and from what year.
• The Year 9 and Year 10 program. As the charts show, this is where the bill steps up. Ask what the program is, where it runs and what it costs.
• Geography. A shorter commute compounds over six years.
• Price, read properly. Use the full-year total for the year your child starts, and model the whole journey.

Then visit at least three, and watch how students and staff talk to each other in the corridors.

What fees can't tell you

A fee is a budget figure, not a quality score. We hold no VCE or NAPLAN results and we do not rank schools on outcomes. Use the fee for what it is, and judge teaching on a tour and on what each school publishes.

Where to go next

• Each school's profile: St Catherine's, Melbourne Girls Grammar, Lauriston Girls', Melbourne Grammar, Carey Baptist Grammar, Scotch College, Trinity Grammar Kew, Caulfield Grammar, Xavier College.
• Every Victorian school with a published fee: Victorian school fees.
• The biggest independent schools in each capital: our capital-cities guide puts the median Year 7 cost across the seven of Melbourne's eight biggest independent schools that publish 2026 fees at $34,700, so the nine schools here are the dearest end of the market, not the typical one.
• Australia-wide: our ranking of the most expensive schools in Australia puts Geelong Grammar first in 2026 ($55,796 for a Year 12 day boarder) and lists the 2027 fees Melbourne schools have already published.
• Other cities: Sydney, Adelaide and Canberra.
• Scholarships and timing: the Melbourne scholarships calendar, the private school entry timeline and how families pay for private school.
• Fees by sector and gender: Catholic versus independent fees and single-sex versus co-ed fees.
• Around the schools: kids' activities in Kew, Toorak, Hawthorn, South Yarra and Armadale, from our Kids' Activity Index.

Frequently asked questions

What is the most expensive school in Melbourne in 2026? Of the nine schools whose schedules we read, St Catherine's adds up to the highest bill: $47,740 in Year 7 and $49,300 in Year 12 once its composite fee is included. The dearest single year is Melbourne Grammar's Year 10 at $52,255. Lauriston, Melbourne Girls Grammar, Scotch and Trinity print tuition only, and Wesley, Haileybury, MLC and PLC are not ranked, so treat this as the highest figure printed rather than a final ranking.

Which Melbourne school has the highest Year 12 fee? St Catherine's, at $49,300 (tuition $46,360 plus a $2,940 composite fee). Melbourne Girls Grammar follows at $47,524 on tuition alone, then Lauriston at $46,800 and Melbourne Grammar at $46,589.

How much do Year 7 to Year 12 cost at a Melbourne private school? Where a school prints its compulsory charges, the six years run from $262,569 (Caulfield Grammar) to $294,360 (St Catherine's). Where it prints tuition only, they run from $264,976 to $275,800 before camps and devices.

Is the fee a school advertises the fee I pay? Not always. Lauriston lists $48,352 for Year 7 before government grants, and families are billed $44,400. Ask for the net, full-year figure, including compulsory charges, for the year your child starts.

Do fees rise every year? Yes. MLC's Year 7 tuition rose from $38,040 in 2025 to $43,770 in 2027, a rise of 15% between its own schedules. A 2026 table is a floor for a child starting in 2027.

Does a higher fee mean better teaching? No. A fee reflects a school's costs and its market position. We hold no VCE or NAPLAN results and do not rank schools on outcomes, so judge teaching on a tour.

How we checked: fees are each school's own published 2026 day-student schedule for domestic students, read at the school's own website in October 2026 (Melbourne Grammar from its fee page and Business Notice; the other eight from their fee schedules). Totals and rises are our arithmetic from those lines, and Trinity's about-figure uses the camp and laptop prices in its own schedule. Fees change every year, so confirm with the school before you enrol. AroundSchools holds no academic results and does not rank schools on quality.