Perth Schools and Education Guide: Public, Private, and Selective

Perth's education landscape combines an excellent government school system (the Western Australian Department of Education operates approximately 800 government schools in metropolitan Perth) with a strong independent school sector and the world-class University of Western Australia. Western Australia's relative isolation from the eastern seaboard has historically encouraged the development of strong local educational institutions, and Perth's schools and universities have a distinctive character shaped by the city's resources economy and its proximity to Asia.

Perth Modern School and Selective Programs — Perth Modern School (Subiaco, 5km west of the Perth CBD) is Australia's largest selective school (approximately 1,600 students, Year 7 to Year 12) and Western Australia's most prestigious secondary school: the school's academic program is exceptional, and Perth Modern consistently produces Western Australia's highest ATAR results. Entry to Perth Modern is by examination (the Academic Selective Entrance Test, ASET, sat in Year 6) and is extremely competitive, with approximately 6,000 applicants competing for approximately 250 Year 7 places each year. The WA Department of Education also operates a network of specialist language and agriculture schools providing selective entry programs.

Independent Schools: PDHSA, ISA, and ASWA — Perth's prestigious independent school sector (including the AIC, the Anglican schools, and the Catholic Education Western Australia schools) encompasses some of Australia's most historic and well-resourced educational institutions: Scotch College (the most prestigious independent boys' school in WA, Swanbourne), Christ Church Grammar School (Claremont), Hale School (Wembley Downs), Presbyterian Ladies' College (Peppermint Grove), St Mary's Anglican Girls' School, and Methodist Ladies' College are among Perth's most established independent schools. These schools typically charge fees of $15,000-$35,000 per year for secondary students.

Universities: UWA, Curtin, and Murdoch — the University of Western Australia (UWA, Crawley, on the Swan River 5km south-west of the Perth CBD) is Western Australia's most prestigious university and a member of Australia's Group of Eight research-intensive universities: the extraordinary Collegiate Gothic campus (designed by Rodney Alsop in 1915-1932) is one of Australia's most beautiful university campuses, and UWA's research strengths in medicine, engineering, marine science, and agriculture are internationally recognised. Curtin University (Bentley, 10km south-east of Perth) is WA's largest university and is particularly strong in technology, business, and resources engineering. Murdoch University (Murdoch) provides strong programs in health, law, and veterinary science.

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