Education in Australia

Based on the British system, the Australian education system has in recent years been modified to reflect the priorities and needs of Australians and is considered to be one of the best in the world.

It’s flexible and challenging and generally has a good international reputation. Australian schools have a high standard of teaching and good academic results, and the country has a proud record of academic and scientific achievement. In international surveys, Australian students score highly in mathematics and science. Universities and colleges enrol over 50,000 foreign students each year from all over the globe, with another 100,000 foreign students enrolled in vocational institutions and English-language colleges.

Education in Australia is largely the responsibility of state and territory governments. They each have their own education system, with supplementary funding provided by the federal government. 

Full-time education is compulsory from the age of 6 to 15. Around half of the country’s primary and secondary schools are private and many are Catholic schools.

While most public schools are co-educational (mixed boys and girls), many private schools are single-sex, especially at the secondary level. It’s generally considered that private schools are superior to public ones, although there appears to be little difference between the best public and private schools.