The most and least popular schools with parents – see how your school ranks

November 1, 2026 — 2:05pm

A public secondary school in Melbourne’s south-east has won the approval of parents, defying a trend for those on the city’s fringe to record lower parental satisfaction scores due to ageing facilities and student bullying.

An analysis of the annual opt-in survey of more than 300 government-run secondary schools across the state, found Stonnington had the most satisfied parents – giving the schools an average rating of 89.2 per cent. Average satisfaction scores are similarly high for schools in Glen Eira (85 per cent) and Port Phillip (82.6 per cent).

By contrast, Cardinia (55.8 per cent), Nillumbik (59.1 per cent) and Melton (61.5 per cent) were on average home to the Melbourne schools with the least satisfied parents with in 2025.

While schools in growth corridors tended to have lower scores, the area of Casey rose above. The average parental satisfaction of schools there is 72.9 per cent, driven up by select-entry Nossal High School (96.3) and Cranbourne West Secondary College (97.6 per cent).

Still, experts say the figures highlight the stress public schools in growth areas are under, and the need to ensure government funding and services back up the commitment of teachers.

National Growth Areas chief executive Bronwen Clark said communities on the city’s fringe were grappling with a number of pressures as the population expanded.

“I think that all plays into a catching-up process, that organic growth of transport systems, school growth, maturity in the school community takes time,” she said.

“It may well be that part of the frustration for parents is the transport to get their kids to school, and the traffic and the congestion. And it may well be that some secondary schools have a vast number of portable classrooms.”

Statewide, schools that ran from prep to year 12 were ranked lower (70.1 per cent) than standalone secondary schools (74.1 per cent), with P-12 schools more commonly located in regional areas with lower satisfaction levels.

Regionally, parents gave the most positive ratings to schools in Pyrenees Shire (93.8 per cent), and the lowest in Wodonga (48.2 per cent).

Closer to the city centre, parents rated two Melbourne schools with scores of 100 per cent satisfaction: Box Hill Senior Secondary College, in Melbourne’s east, which has 282 students, and Bindjiroo Yaluk Community School, which has just 79 students across campuses in Richmond and Coburg.

Cranbourne West Secondary College principal Rob Duncan said the Casey area school’s high parental satisfaction correlated with other strong results, across VCE scores, student engagement and strong management of bullying.

“Because we’re a reasonably multicultural community, we obviously try to make sure we’ve got staff who the parents feel that they can communicate with,” Duncan said, adding teachers spoke several different languages.

“We make ourselves as accessible as possible when parents have concerns, that’s the entire leadership team. And we have a genuine focus on positive outcomes for kids.”

Parents Victoria chief executive Gail McHardy said that while families could face different educational experiences depending on where they lived, survey results should be used as a starting point and “not a definitive verdict on a school or its staff”.

“Parental satisfaction reflects many factors: the quality of relationships between schools and families, student learning, safety, bullying, mental health and wellbeing, disability inclusion, teacher availability, facilities and access to specialist support … But every school is different, and we should not assume geography alone explains the results,” she said.

“Parents in growth corridors may be navigating additional pressures around school capacity, infrastructure and access to support services. These are system-planning issues, not a reflection of the commitment of local school communities.”

In Cardinia Shire, the average school’s parent satisfaction result was 55.8 per cent, the lowest across metropolitan areas.

Parents at one local secondary school told The Age that while they were happy with the school’s teachers and buildings (which recently received $11.3 million for upgrades and modernisation), they were concerned about bullying and student suspensions.

“I’ve found the teachers have been really good,” said Jayde Valsveld, who attended the school herself and has sent four children there. “If there’s been any issues, they’ve been involved. And now with all the new buildings going in, they’re way overdue.”

Though parents reported some students being suspended multiple times without a change in behaviour, Valsveld said: “With every school, the bullying could be improved; the way bullies are handled discipline-wise.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said the school treated all allegations of bullying seriously and addressed incidents with appropriate and proportionate consequences.

Since 2024, every government school parent has had the opportunity to complete the survey.

“Parent satisfaction has continued to improve in recent years, alongside student perceptions,” the department’s spokesperson said.

“Education works best when schools and families are working in partnership, and parent surveys and forums are just some of the tools used to cultivate that approach.”

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