In the Media

Loreto Toorak has been recognised in The Age for its sustained rise in top VCE Legal Studies results. This is a reflection of early engagement, real-world learning and our Year 13 mentoring program - Mandeville Mentors, where past students return to support current learners.

The Age reports: 

"...Meanwhile, Loreto Mandeville Hall has a “Year 13” mentoring program in which former Year 12 students return to help current students sharpen their study habits and responses to questions.

In 2016, 10 students received a score of 40 or higher in legal studies. Last year, this number rose to 22 (the school’s second-best result after 2023, when 23 students achieved this).

Jill Fitzsimons, Director of Teaching and Llearning, says mentors offer more direct feedback to students than teachers. “But they are also providing that role model around what you need to do to be successful,” she says.

Sophie Hill, who received a score of 48 in legal studies last year, said she was introduced to the subject through humanities classes in Year 9 and a law and politics elective the following year.

Last year, the class was full of discussions as students watched the twists and turns of Erin Patterson’s trial. “The mushroom case was such a cool thing to understand; the processes that were being spoken about and just how what we learnt relates to real life.”

Read the full article: Victorian Schools Guide: How Melbourne High, Loreto Mandeville Hall and Melbourne Grammar School improved student scores

"Other schools that have recorded surging 40+ scores in English include Braybrook College, Loreto Mandeville Hall and John Monash Science School and Emmanuel College in Warrnambool.

The schools’ results are revealed in the Victorian Schools Guide, The Age’s new interactive dashboard that will allow parents and students to examine the performance of the state’s government, Catholic and independent schools. The dashboard will be updated regularly and feature new sections in the future, to help guide students and their families in school choices."

Read the full article: The schools that are getting more top scores in VCE English

View the data on the Victorian Schools Guide.

By Jackson Graham and Craig Butt
Photo: Student Sophie Hill with Loreto Mandeville Hall Director of Teaching and Learning Jill Fitzsimons.Credit: Eddie Jim.
Published 31 January 2026