Narrabundah College

"Narrabundah College holds a genuinely singular place in Australian educational history."

Located in the suburb of Narrabundah in the Australian Capital Territory, this government college serves students in the final two years of secondary education, providing a focused and academically rigorous environment for young people preparing to transition into university and adult life. For families relocating to Canberra — whether from elsewhere in Australia or from abroad — Narrabundah College represents a well-established, internationally recognised option for senior secondary study. Founded in 1974, the college has built a reputation that extends well beyond the ACT. Its most distinguished distinction is one that no other Australian school can claim: Narrabundah College was the first school in the entire country to offer the International Baccalaureate, launching the programme in February 1978. That pioneering decision has shaped the college's identity ever since, and today it continues to offer the IB Diploma Programme, the globally recognised two-year qualification that is accepted by universities across Australia and in countries around the world. The IB Diploma Programme is particularly well suited to the families of diplomats, international civil servants, and relocating professionals who make up a significant part of Canberra's unique population. Because the IB Diploma is a standardised qualification recognised in over 150 countries, students who complete it at Narrabundah College carry credentials that travel with them, opening doors to higher education institutions whether they go on to study in Australia, Europe, North America, or beyond. Instruction is delivered in English, consistent with the college's Australian government school setting. As a government college, Narrabundah is part of the ACT public education system, which means it operates with the accountability and accessibility that parents often associate with well-resourced public institutions. The college draws students from across the territory for its senior secondary years, creating a student body that is naturally more diverse in its origins and backgrounds than a typical neighbourhood school might be. This convergence of students from different schools and communities gives the college something of a collegiate atmosphere — one where young people are making deliberate choices about their education and arriving with a degree of purpose and independence. The Narrabundah suburb itself sits close to the heart of Canberra, a planned national capital city known for its cultural institutions, green spaces, and strong international community centred around the diplomatic and governmental sectors. Families living in and around Canberra will find the college well positioned within the broader urban fabric of the ACT. For expat families in particular, the combination of a long-established IB Diploma programme, a public school ethos, and a location in one of Australia's most internationally connected cities makes Narrabundah College a compelling choice. Its decades of experience with the IB — stretching back nearly half a century — mean that the programme here is not a recent addition but a deeply embedded part of the college's culture and expertise. Parents seeking a school where the IB is genuinely in the institution's DNA will find that Narrabundah College has few peers in Australia.