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Noel Towell

Noel Towell

Noel Towell is Education Editor for The Age

The 2025 Schools That Excel.

Schools that Excel 2025

Celebrating Victorian schools that have improved their end-of-year VCE performance over the past decade.

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Schools that Excel 25

Schools that Excel 2025: Find out your school’s VCE results over the past decade

The Age’s Schools that Excel series celebrates schools that achieve outstanding improvement in their VCE results over a decade. Find out who won and use our dashboard to track your school’s results.

  • Craig Butt and Noel Towell
St Albans Secondary College acting principal John Coulson-Silva, pictured with year 12 college leaders. The college is one of Victoria’s top VCE performers among government schools.

These students’ superpower guarantees VCE success, but the western suburbs need more schools

In a special series on Melbourne’s west, we reveal the top VCE schools in the booming region where many students have fewer choices and face long commutes.

  • Noel Towell and Craig Butt
Go west is The Age’s special series on Melbourne’s western suburbs.

Go west

In this special series, The Age focuses on Melbourne’s western suburbs to see how life could improve in Australia’s fastest-growing region.

University College, the University of Melbourne.

Manager at prestigious college alleges she was frozen out for working from home

Working relationships allegedly broke down after the manager lodged a working-from-home request. She is now taking her employer to the Federal Court.

  • Noel Towell
Endeavour Hills Specialist School

Woman who worked at special school charged with child sex abuse

A female support worker in Endeavour Hills has been accused of child sex abuse as parents are told about the “deeply troubling” news.

  • Noel Towell and Alexander Darling
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Alphington Grammar School principal Vivianne Nikou and students in front of the school’s controversial gate across Old Heidelberg Road.

Fury road: Demolition looms in school’s gate stoush with Yarra Council

Yarra Council plans to send a demolition squad to a private school to remove a gate, escalating a six-year feud over public access versus student safety.

  • Noel Towell
The boss of collasped childcare chain Genius, Darren Misquitta, outside Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Genius Childcare boss fined for handling proceeds of crime as investigators chase missing millions

Darren Misquitta escaped conviction but his legal woes may be just beginning as investigators search for missing millions from his childcare empire and allege breaches of company law.

  • Noel Towell
The state’s 30,000 Catholic school teachers will put their hands up for a 37 per cent pay rise.

Catholic school teachers chase 37 per cent pay rise

Victoria’s 30,000 Catholic educators want a $5000 sign-on bonus, a regular retention payment and 17 per cent super.

  • Noel Towell
Scotch College in Hawthorn has been the target of a cyberattack.

Scotch College apologises for data breach

Families and graduates of the prestigious boys’ school have been warned about suspicious emails, links and attachments, after its IT system was accessed by an “unknown third party”.

  • Bridie Smith and Noel Towell