What is Mac.Rob?
Welcome to Mac.Rob, a selective entry high school for students in Years 9-12. Established in 1934, Mac.Rob plays a vital and inclusive role as one of the four selective entry schools in Victoria by ensuring a sense of connection, belonging, and challenge for like-minded, high-achieving students.
Located on Boon Wurrung country in the leafy heart of Naarm (Melbourne), Mac.Rob is one of Victoria’s four selective entry high schools, and one of the top-scoring public schools in the state. Students at selective entry high schools are driven, self-motivated, and high achievers in maths and sciences, visual and performing arts, physical education, and humanities subjects. The role of a selective entry school is to ensure a sense of connection, belonging, and challenge for like-minded, high-ability students.
As a selective entry school, the Mac.Robertson Girls' High School is not zoned; we accept students from all across Victoria, provided they have successfully applied for and completed the Selective Entry Examination. This examination is held in the year preceding enrolment - i.e. for students enrolling in 2024, they will sit an entrance exam in 2023.
All Australian or New Zealand citizens, or students who hold a visa or ImmiCard, may apply for a place at Mac.Rob. Fee-paying international students enrolled in Victorian schools are not eligible to apply. Mac.Rob does not maintain a waitlist, and cannot enrol students to secure visa or immigration status.
Mac.Rob is a school for senior students in Years 9-12; we do not accept students in Years 7 or 8, or in their final year of VCE study. Our students typically attend another high school of their choosing for these junior years, before applying for and transitioning to Mac.Rob at Year 9, 10, or 11.
“The Selective Entry Schools [Mac.Rob, MHS, Nossal, and Suzanne Cory] are recognised as providing a specialist environment that enables highly able students to more fully achieve extended intellectual and social growth. The schools work to provide an environment that enables young people to explore and shape their own aspirations and dispositions in a community of high peer trust and inclusivity.”
The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), administrators of the Selective Entry Examination.
Principal’s message.
I warmly welcome you to The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, or “Mac.Rob” as it is affectionately known. Mac.Rob plays a vital and inclusive role as one of the four selective entry schools in Victoria, by ensuring a sense of connection, belonging, and challenge for like-minded, highly-able students.
Beyond our school community, Mac.Rob is well known for outstanding results, which manifest due to our unerring focus on growth - and the development of curious, motivated, critical thinkers. Our school inspires active engagement in a breadth of experiences and encourages collaboration; our students understand that we learn best when we collaborate with others, and that achievement is most rewarding when it is shared.
We trust in the capacity of our young people to make meaningful contributions to the school - through collaboration with staff in learning and decision making, and through expansive leadership, co-curricular and social service opportunities at Mac.Rob.
Our aim is to develop young people who are compassionate and resilient, and explore disciplines and futures they are truly passionate about.
Ms. Sue Harrap
Principal, The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School
Enrich your journey.
Our students are high-ability, which means they’re driven to strive, challenge, and extend themselves and their learning.
At Mac.Rob, our curriculum is designed for students who can learn at a rate and level above the average, who demonstrate a passion for extending their own learning and rise to meet the challenge.
At Mac.Rob, artistic expression, creative thinking, physical expression, social justice and leadership, and the emotional wellbeing of self, peers and community are as highly valued as academic achievement.
Our students embrace opportunities both in and out of the classroom, and apply the same dedication, rigour, and curiosity to all aspects of their learning.
Our student leaders explain what it’s like to learn at Mac.Rob, and showcase a range of activities our students undertake in Year 9.
“Mac.Rob, as a selective entry school, plays an important and inclusive role in our education system. We provide a deep sense of connection and belonging for our students; Mac.Rob is a place where you can be yourself and be celebrated for that.”
— Sue Harrap, School Principal
Mac.Rob and Melbourne High School have a long tradition of artistic collaboration, and our annual combined productions provide students with an opportunity to build new friendships beyond the classroom.
Broaden your horizons.
Co-curricular activities provide invaluable opportunities for students to develop self-expression, problem-solving, communication, and leadership skills, and are an essential part of a well-rounded, future-focused education.
Mac.Rob students are offered a huge range of programs to participate in as part of their regular and extra-curricular coursework, including sports teams, concerts, athletics and swimming carnivals, plays and musical performances, art exhibitions, and environmental, social, and wellbeing initiatives.
Students can also assume a position of leadership within the school, and improve the wellbeing of their peers and community as a House Captain, a portfolio leader, a Student Council Representative, or as a participant in numerous state, national, and inter-school forums and symposiums.
Every journey is different.
Mac.Rob takes pride in maximising the growth and development of all our students. This focus allows them to achieve their best when undertaking a senior certificate, be it the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) or the International Baccalaureate (IB).
Our approach to teaching and learning, along with the wide breadth of subjects we offer, ensures that our students achieve outstanding personal success, and the best possible start to their tertiary study or future pathway.
Our inaugural cohort of International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme participants commenced in 2022. The IB is an internationally recognised programme of education for students in Years 11 and 12, and is an alternate Year 11 and 12 course of study that students can pursue.
Recognising service and the importance of a holistic approach to student learning and development, the IB programme offers a broad, personalised “learner-centred” education, fostering international understanding and preparing students for life beyond school.
No matter where their journey takes them, or whichever course of study students undertake, all Mac.Robbians receive the same access to high-quality teaching, robust learning resources, and extension and enrichment opportunities.
All Mac.Rob students receive mentorship and guidance when selecting their course of study, and work towards achieving goals involving their personal growth, academic enrichment, and community engagement.