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  • Must I list four schools?

    You should list only those schools you are prepared to accept. You can list from one to four choices. Please consider carefully the choices made and do not list a school you are not prepared to send your child to.
    Before applying for each school, you should consider available transport and the time your child will take to reach each school of choice. Selection committees do not consider travelling times and transport arrangements when offering places.

    Though it is not possible to predict what score your child will achieve in the assessment process, parents should be aware that the required score for entry will vary from year to year. The score required to be offered a place in a fully selective high school is generally higher than that of the partially selective high schools. The entry score required is determined by the demand for the school.

    The entry scores required for last year are available at: Entry scores

  • Does the order in which I list my choices matter?

    Yes. If your child qualifies for more than one of your choices, you will be offered a place only at the school of highest choice for which your child qualifies. See page 6 of the application information.

  • What provision is made for students from non-government schools?

    The selection procedures are exactly the same for all students. Principals of non-government primary schools have been asked to accept your application, add relevant school assessment scores and comments and send it to the Selective High School and Opportunity Class Placement Unit. In circumstances where this is not possible, you should complete the Application for exemption form (PDF 31kB). 

    Students whose non-government schools do not provide school assessment scores or scores which can be moderated will be considered on the basis of their test scores and any other relevant information.

  • What can I do to prepare my child for the Selective High School Placement Test

    Children should be encouraged to familiarise themselves with the kinds of questions they will be asked. Students can practise answering the questions in the past test papers available on the Unit's website. Students will also be given practice questions before the test begins.

    Sample test papers 

    The Department of Education and Training does not endorse coaching for the Selective High School Placement Test.

  • What happens if my child gets sick on the day of the test?

    You should download an Illness/misadventure form (PDF 24kB) from the website or contact the Unit for a form to be posted to you.You should take your child to a medical practitioner and have the relevant section completed by him/her. You will also need to attach a medical certificate. The form should be returned to the Unit, together with relevant medical evidence of your child's illness whether or not the student attempted the test. It is generally better to attempt the test than to miss it. Children who miss out on the test may be considered on their moderated school assessment scores, or if these are not available, on any alternative evidence submitted.

    Claims based on illness must be made at this stage. The selection committee will consider the student's illness/misadventure claim as part of the application. Remember, it is generally better to attempt the test than to miss it.

    You will not be able to appeal on the grounds of illness after the outcome is known.

  • If my outcome advice indicates that my child is unsuccessful, can his or her name be placed on a reserve list?

    No.Three key expressions are used in outcome letters: 'offer', 'reserve list' and 'unsuccessful'. The selection committees decides the students who will receive offers and those who will be placed on the reserve list. These students have higher scores than those who are unsuccessful. Students placed on the reserve list will be given a number indicating their position on the reserve list. Progress on the reserve list varies from year to year. When offers begin to be made from the reserve list, the progress of each school's reserve list is available on this web site.

    Check progress on the reserve list (only after 1 August 2012)

  • What does the Selective High School Placement Test tell me about my child's performance?

    The Selective High School Placement Test is designed to help identify students for entry into selective high schools on the basis of academic merit. It is not meant to identify the student's strengths and weaknesses in English or mathematics performance. The student's primary school is in a far better position to advise you on your child's performance in these areas.

  • If my child was unsuccessful for opportunity class placement, does it mean he or she will be unsuccessful for selective high school entry?

    Not necessarily. The entry requirements for opportunity class and selective high school placement can vary quite significantly. Moreover, there is scope for improvement in the ability and performance of students over the time since they applied for opportunity class placement. Conversely, not all students from opportunity classes are successful for selective high school entry. Remember there are over twice as many Year 7 places in selective high schools as there are Year 5 places in opportunity classes.

  • If I receive an offer to one of my lower choices as well as being on the reserve list for one of my higher choices, do I have to give up the offer to stay on the reserve list?

    You can accept an offer to one school while remaining on the reserve list for one or more of your higher choices until 3pm on the last day of the school year in 2012. After that time no further offers will be made to students who have already accepted an offer of a place in a selective high school. After that time no further offers will be made to students who have alrerady accepted placement in a selective high school.

  • If my child is one of the last to be made an offer, does that mean he or she will struggle at a selective high school?

    There are many things which can affect student performance, including your child's willingness to learn, his or her response to teachers and interaction with other students. While some students who receive late offers might have problems, the majority should have no difficulties. The selection committee offers places or reserve list positions only to those students considered capable of doing well at a selective high school.

  • What should I do if my child does not get into a selective high school?

    Be supportive and explain to your child that he or she can be very successful at a comprehensive high school. Students from comprehensive high schools can achieve results which are as good as, or even better than, results gained by selective high school students.

    The NSW government also provides excellent comprehensive high schools. Comprehensive high schools implement gifted and talented programs as a feature of the Department of Education and Training's gifted and talented policy.

  • What score does a student have to gain to be successful for selective high school placement?

     There is no pre-determined score that a student has to achieve to be successful for selective high school placement. The minimum entry score for each selective high school depends on the score achieved by the candidates applying for that school and can vary from school to school and from year to year.The greater the demand for the school the higher the entry score is likely to be. For example, in a school with 150 places, the entry score achieved for the 150th ranked student offered a place at that school becomes the entry score.

    The entry scores required for the last year are available at: Entry scores

    Please note that these scores are those required to be placed in a selective high school last year. The entry score for the this year will not be known until after the placement process is finalised. Though your child's score may be higher than that shown for last year this does not necessarily mean that they will be offered a place this year.

  • How can I find out my child's score?

    Most applicants will receive their child's profile score at the bottom of their outcome advice in July. To receive further details of your child's scores in the selective high school placement process, after you have received your outcome advice, please complete a request for scores form which is available from this web site.

  • How does the reserve list work?

    If the student is on a reserve list for a selective high school the number on the outcome advice shows the student's position on the list. The progress of the reserve list depends on whether students accept or decline an offer, and whether other students receive subsequent offers, to a school of higher choice. If a student's position is reached on the reserve list, parents will be contacted by the Unit with an offer.From the 1 August progress on the reserve list is updated regularly as reserve offers are made. See progress on the reserve list.

  • Why do some partially selective high schools combine selective and comprehensive students in the senior years?

    Some partially selective high schools do this. It allows the school to better organise the timetable and offer more electives than would be possible if the selective students were kept as a separate group. This organisation advantages selective students as the school can offer a wider range of electives.