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Bridie Smith

Bridie Smith

Bridie Smith is an education reporter at The Age. A former desk editor, she has also reported on science and consumer affairs.

Thornbury mother Emily Hehir with her three children: Eden Barber, 7, Jonas Barber, 5, and Leila Barber, 3.

Think the petrol crisis is bad now? A million kids are about to return to school

Demand for petrol and diesel is about to soar as hundreds of thousands of daily school runs resume from Monday.

  • Noel Towell, Jackson Graham, Bridie Smith and Alex Crowe

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Melbourne motorist David Mathews fills up on Friday before taking a country road trip.

Petrol retailers warned to pass on excise cuts

Motorists are feeling some relief from soaring fuel prices but there could be more pain ahead.

  • Noel Towell and Bridie Smith
Electric vehicles are having their moment in the sun.

Electric vehicles are having a moment, but questions linger over the network

The Easter long weekend is one of the busiest times of year at EV charging stations. Which ones should you avoid in Victoria?

  • Bianca Hall and Bridie Smith
Steve and Nicole Shaw with their sons Harry (Y8) and Fraser (Y6) and Oliver (Y10)

‘Missed the boat’: Why the race for private school spots now starts in primary

Two-thirds of year 6 students attended a Victorian state school last year. But once students reach year 7, things change dramatically.

  • Bridie Smith and Craig Butt
Presbyterian Ladies’ College aquatic centre includes a 50m, eight-lane swimming pool, an 18m learn to swim pool, diving towers and seating for 400.

Rooftop tennis courts and Olympic pools: private schools’ multimillion-dollar arms race

A $100 million sports and aquatics complex, a $55 million humanities building: what Melbourne’s private schools are spending on their new facilities.

  • Bridie Smith
Students sit the NAPLAN exam in 2024.

‘A nightmare’: NAPLAN chaos as website crashes on first day of testing

Testing resumed on Wednesday after schools across Australia were forced to pause NAPLAN exams due to technical issues.

  • Noel Towell, Bridie Smith, Nicole Precel and Jackson Graham
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Mount Alexander College principal Dani Angelico says the state school is experiencing high demand.

‘It’s like having a luxury handbag’: Private school enrolments rising despite costs

Parents are choosing private education in increasing numbers, but the latest school snapshot also had much-needed good news for government schools.

  • Noel Towell and Bridie Smith
Year 11 students Eliska van der Veen, Issam Alaeddine, Alexander Chan and Hansika Tummala joined John Monash Science School this year. Of the 34 new year 11 students, 21 are girls.

Push for Melbourne’s top science school to introduce gender quotas

Two of Melbourne’s most sought-after state high schools must reach gender parity by next year. But not this one.

  • Bridie Smith
he vacant land on 12 Moonbria Avenue, which is behind the Genazzano FCJ College.

Kew girls’ school puts prime real estate on the market to pay debt

“The current environment is particularly challenging for independent schools such as ours,” a spokesperson says.

  • Bridie Smith and Jackson Graham
St Albans Secondary College students Mitchell Cauchi, Stephanie Truong and Josephine Mai with principal Craig Jennings.

Once dismissed as ‘westies’, these VCE students are soaring against the odds

St Albans Secondary College is among schools whose social disadvantage is no barrier to VCE success. Use our interactive to find out all you need to know about your school’s VCE performance.

  • Bridie Smith and Craig Butt