Up to 15 Victorian schools will next year be trialling a proposed new thesis subject for Year 12 VCE students.

Almost all schools use Years 7 to 10 to give their students a solid grounding in the most important areas of learning and a chance to find out what they like and are good at before they specialise.

Independent schools are non-government institutions that generally do not belong to a system.

You can get an overall picture of any school by reading its profile. Each school's profile includes details of its main characteristics.

While most scholarships are open to all students, the most likely recipients are generally students who demonstrate outstanding academic merit or financial need.

Government schools make up the largest sector, with around 65 per cent of enrolments nationally.

One of the best ways of evaluating a school is to look at the ways in which it reports to parents.