Ballarat Clarendon College and St Patrick's College both confirmed they have students attend from the hotspot suburbs.

Education and employment are permitted reasons to leave the home under the lockdown restrictions that apply in metropolitan Melbourne, and during last year's extended metropolitan lockdowns staff and students were also permitted to travel through the "ring of steel" to schools in Ballarat.

Melton currently has 22 active COVID-19 cases while at least 21 confirmed cases have been linked to the Caroline Springs Square Shopping Centre.

A Ballarat Clarendon College spokesperson said they school was following the direction of the health and education authorities.

"We are abiding by the Department of Education and Training Operational Guidelines as we have done throughout the pandemic," they said.

"This is a challenging time for schools and we're navigating the complexities based on the advice of the experts. As a school, we're not in a position to make decisions on our own. We have from the outset and will continue to follow the advice, guidance and directions of the government, DET and the health authorities."

However some boarding and day students have been completing remote learning this week because of the rapid change in the lockdown situation in regional areas and a planned long weekend for the school community.

Ballarat Grammar has no students from Victorian hotspot areas who travel in for their education, but have two boarding students in NSW who are learning from home.

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"Two Ballarat Grammar boarders are from Hay, NSW, which is outside the current border bubble. They are required to quarantine for 14 days when they return to school in Ballarat. They are currently learning from home, with their teachers providing their work online. We are working with the Department of Education and Department of Health to come to a resolution for these boarders."

St Patrick's College has some students from Melton that travel to the college each day, as they did last year when there was the "ring of steel" around Melbourne.

"They are permitted to do so under the current guidelines relating to the five reasons that people are allowed to leave home in Melbourne," a spokesman said.

"Whereas in 2020 we were conducting temperature checks each day for all boys from Melton, this is not the advised practice in 2021."

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