Choosing a private school in Brisbane is rarely about a single league table. Fees, ICSEA, sector, gender model, boarding and program strengths all matter, and the right answer depends on your child and your budget. Below are the Brisbane schools in our register, with their published 2026 fees and ICSEA scores, so you can compare like with like. Every school links to its full profile, and the complete city ranking lives at best private schools in Brisbane on our site.
Brisbane private schools at a glance (2026 fees and ICSEA)
Fees shown are indicative Year 12 day tuition for 2026. Boarding, where offered, is charged separately. ICSEA has a national average of 1,000. Where a school's published ICSEA is not in our register, we show an en-dash.
| School | Suburb | Sector / gender | Year 12 fee 2026 | ICSEA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane Grammar School | Spring Hill | Independent, boys | $36,300 | 1,212 |
| Somerville House | South Brisbane | Independent (PMSA), girls | $31,872 | 1,184 |
| St Peters Lutheran College | Indooroopilly | Lutheran, co-ed | $26,088 | 1,183 |
| All Hallows' School | Fortitude Valley | Catholic, girls | $18,950 | 1,182 |
| Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) | East Brisbane | Anglican, boys | $33,720 | 1,167 |
| Brisbane Boys' College | Toowong | Independent, boys | $33,260 | 1,164 |
| Stuartholme School | Toowong | Catholic, girls | $22,820 | 1,163 |
| Brisbane Girls Grammar School | Spring Hill | Independent, girls | $34,088 | – |
| St Margaret's Anglican Girls School | Ascot | Anglican, girls | $33,216 | – |
| St Aidan's Anglican Girls' School | Corinda | Anglican, girls (co-ed Kindergarten) | $31,992 | – |
| St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace | Spring Hill | Catholic, boys | $24,214 | – |
| St Joseph's Nudgee College | Boondall | Catholic, boys | $23,250 | 1,097 |
| St Laurence's College | South Brisbane | Catholic, boys | $14,280 | 1,112 |
| Iona College | Wynnum | Catholic, boys | $14,820 | 1,093 |
| Padua College Kedron | Kedron | Catholic, boys | $11,280 | 1,107 |
Fees are sourced from each school's published 2026 schedule or the Good Schools Guide listing; ICSEA values are from the ACARA MySchool register. Always confirm current figures with the school before deciding.
How to choose a Brisbane private school
Brisbane's private school market is unusually deep, with the historic Greater Public Schools (GPS) and Queensland Girls' Secondary Schools Sports Association (QGSSSA) independents sitting alongside strong Lutheran and Catholic options. A few practical questions narrow the field quickly. Do you want single-sex or co-ed? Is sport, music or academic rigour the priority? Will you need boarding for a regional move? And, just as importantly, what is the all-in cost once camps, devices and co-curricular fees are added? Several Brisbane schools, including Somerville House and St Aidan's Anglican Girls' School, run all-inclusive fee models that fold most extras into one figure, which makes budgeting cleaner. Use the table above as a shortlist, then visit open days before deciding. The full ranking sits at best private schools in Brisbane.
The elite GPS and grammar independents
Brisbane Grammar School in Spring Hill (ICSEA 1,212, the highest in our Brisbane set) is a non-denominational boys' school founded in 1868, with a GPS sport tradition, strong music and debating, and a boarding house. Its sister school, Brisbane Girls Grammar School, is one of Queensland's top academic performers across ATAR and the IB. Year 12 day tuition for 2026 is around $36,300 at Brisbane Grammar and $34,088 at Brisbane Girls Grammar, the two highest in our set.
Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie) in East Brisbane is a GPS rowing, rugby and cricket powerhouse that also offers the IB Diploma and Primary Years Programme, with a boarding house from Year 7. Brisbane Boys' College in Toowong rounds out the leading boys' independents, with GPS sport, a strong cadet and outdoor education program and a noted pipe band tradition. Both sit in the low $30,000s for 2026 Year 12 day tuition.
Leading girls' schools
Somerville House in South Brisbane has the highest ICSEA among the city's girls' schools in our set (1,184). It is a PMSA independent with a strong academic record and an all-inclusive fee that covers a laptop, camps and QGSSSA sport. St Margaret's Anglican Girls School in Ascot runs one of Queensland's leading girls' boarding houses, with around 190 boarders across Years 5 to 12. St Aidan's Anglican Girls' School in Corinda pairs a consistently high ATAR median with an all-inclusive, 1:1 device fee model.
On the Catholic side, All Hallows' School in Fortitude Valley is the oldest secondary school in Brisbane (founded 1861) and pairs a top-tier ICSEA of 1,182 with a very competitive fee of around $18,950. Stuartholme School in Toowong is the largest girls' boarding school in Queensland, in the Sacred Heart tradition, with strong music and drama programs.
Strong value: Catholic and lower-fee schools
If the elite tier is out of budget, Brisbane has genuinely strong Catholic and lower-fee options. St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace is a founding GPS member in the Edmund Rice tradition, with rugby, rowing and a noted pipes and drums tradition. St Joseph's Nudgee College in Boondall is a GPS rugby and rowing powerhouse that also runs the largest Queensland Catholic boys' boarding house, with 315 or more boarders. For lower-fee day options, St Laurence's College in South Brisbane (ICSEA 1,112, around $14,280), Padua College Kedron in the north (around $11,280) and Iona College in Wynnum (around $14,820) all deliver Edmund Rice or Franciscan boys' education at a fraction of the elite fee.
Understanding 2026 fees
- Headline tuition is not the whole cost. Some Brisbane schools quote a low fee then add camps, devices, IT and co-curricular charges; others (Somerville House, St Aidan's) fold most of those extras into one all-inclusive figure. Compare like with like.
- Year 12 is the most expensive year. The figures in our table are Year 12 day tuition for 2026; Year 5 to Year 9 are typically lower.
- Boarding is charged on top. If you need boarding, budget for the combined day-plus-boarding figure, which can run well past $50,000 a year.
- Scholarships and sibling discounts exist. Most schools offer academic, music and means-tested assistance, plus discounts for additional children. Ask early.
How to read ICSEA and sector together
ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage) has a national average of 1,000, and a higher number means the student community is, on average, more socio-educationally advantaged. It is a community measure, not a quality score, and it does not directly measure teaching or results. Brisbane is a useful reminder of this: All Hallows' School posts an ICSEA of 1,182, within a handful of points of the elite tier, at a fraction of the fee. Sector matters too. Brisbane's market spans non-denominational grammar schools, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian-Uniting (PMSA) and a deep bench of Catholic schools (Edmund Rice, Franciscan, Mercy and Sacred Heart). Match the sector, gender model and culture to your child first, then weigh fees and ICSEA. The complete city view is at best private schools in Brisbane.
Boarding in Brisbane
Brisbane's leading schools draw boarders from regional Queensland, the Darling Downs, North Queensland and beyond, plus interstate and international families. Brisbane Grammar School, Anglican Church Grammar School (Churchie), Brisbane Boys' College, Somerville House, St Peters Lutheran College, Stuartholme School, St Margaret's Anglican Girls School and St Joseph's Nudgee College all run boarding houses, with Nudgee College and Stuartholme among the largest Catholic boys' and girls' boarding communities in the state. Boarding fees are charged on top of tuition, so budget for the combined figure. For the wider picture, read our guide to boarding school costs and what is included in the fees.
When to apply
Several Brisbane independents start their secondary intake at Year 5, which pulls the main entry decision forward. Year 5 and Year 7 are the most competitive entry points, and the GPS and QGSSSA schools, plus all the boarding houses, fill early. As a rule of thumb, register your interest 2 to 4 years ahead for the in-demand schools, and earlier again for boarding and scholarship rounds. Scholarship exams typically run 12 to 18 months before the entry year. Apply to several schools at once and confirm each school's deadlines and waiting-list policy directly, as practices vary.