All-boys, IB & WACE Swanbourne, Perth Founded 1897

Scotch College.

WA's first school to offer the full International Baccalaureate suite (PYP, MYP and DP). Boys-only Uniting Church school in Swanbourne, with a Year 12 cohort split across IB, WACE and VET pathways.

Inside Scotch

Scotch College was founded in 1897 by the Presbyterian Church of Australia and is now an independent Uniting Church boys' school. It sits on a substantial campus in Swanbourne and educates boys from Pre-Kindergarten to Year 12. The school has long been one of the better-known PSA institutions, with the customary breadth of academic and sporting programs.

Scotch has been offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme since 2010, and it was the first school in WA to offer all three IB programmes (Primary Years, Middle Years and Diploma). The IB programme runs in parallel with the standard WACE pathway, and boys can choose which of the two best fits their plans. The school also offers VET courses.

Academically, Scotch's 2024 cohort posted a median ATAR of 88.53 across WACE and equivalent pathways, with 58% of Year 12 WACE students completing four or more ATAR courses and 74% of those scoring above 80. The top individual ATAR in 2024 was 99.70, awarded to David Walton, top 0.3% in the state.

What Scotch is known for

IB Diploma programme since 2010

Scotch was the first WA school to offer the full IB suite, and the programme has consistently performed above the global benchmark. For boys with international ambitions, the IB pathway is a real option, not a token offering.

Dual academic pathway

Boys can choose between the WACE ATAR pathway and the IB Diploma pathway in Year 11. Few WA schools genuinely give that choice. It changes the conversation around senior subject selection.

Oxford and Stanford pathways

Scotch IB graduates have gone on to Oxford, Stanford, and other top international universities. The school's IB record makes overseas applications straightforward in a way that is uncommon for Perth schools.

Strong PSA sport tradition

Scotch is a long-standing PSA school with rugby, cricket, rowing, and athletics traditions stretching back over a century.

Things to consider

Scotch isn't the right fit for every student. Here are the genuine tradeoffs to think through, drawn from publicly available information about the school.

IB or WACE, pick deliberately

Choosing between IB and WACE is one of the most important decisions a Year 11 boy at Scotch makes. Each has different scaling rules, university entry mechanics, and workload. Pick deliberately, not by default.

All-boys environment

Scotch is single-sex from Year 7 onwards. PSA exchange events with girls' schools soften the dynamic socially but the classroom is single-sex through Year 12.

Independent school fees

Senior fees are at the upper end of WA. Scotch's IB Diploma adds materials and exam fee layers that go beyond standard WACE.

Uniting Church foundation

Chapel and religious framing are part of the daily school rhythm rather than optional. Visit before assuming.

The ATAR pathway at Scotch

On the WACE pathway, common combinations are STEM (Methods + Specialist + Physics + Chemistry), Pre-medicine (Methods + Chemistry + Human Bio + English), and Humanities / Law (Literature + History + a Language + Methods).

On the IB pathway, the dominant combinations cluster around higher-level Maths AA, Chemistry, Physics, English and a Language for STEM-focused boys, with HL History and Economics common for humanities-leaning students. Most Scotch graduates head to UWA or interstate sandstones, with IB graduates a meaningful proportion heading overseas.

🚗

From Scotch to our Bentley centre

About 17 km from our Bentley centre and 22 to 25 minutes via Stirling Highway off-peak. The Fremantle train line and a short bus ride from Swanbourne station gives independent students a public-transport option.

Tutoring built for Scotch students.

Small-group ATAR classes at our Bentley centre or live online, for the subjects Scotch students are actually sitting. Free trial class, no card required.

Scotch College questions

Common questions from Scotch College families

How far is Scotch College from Educatta's centres?

Does Educatta tutor the subjects Scotch College students typically take?

Yes. Educatta tutors all the major ATAR subjects Scotch College students are sitting: Mathematics Methods, Mathematics Applications, English, Chemistry, Physics, and Human Biology. Year 11 and 12 students from Scotch College can attend small-group classes at our Bentley centre, or live online from anywhere in WA.

Can Scotch College students attend Educatta classes after school?

Yes. Most of our weekly classes run between 4:00pm and 8:30pm on weekdays, with weekend slots also available. Scotch College's school day finishes in time for students to arrive at our Bentley centre for after-school weekly classes.