The Selective Applications Close on 21st February 2025. Here is a short guide to help you choose the right selective schools for your child.
There are no set minimum entry scores to receive an offer to a selective high school or opportunity class anymore. If you find selective test minimum entry scores or cut-off marks mentioned anywhere on websites, please know that the department stopped publishing them in 2021. One of the main reasons for not having minimum entry scores by schools is that the level of test performance required for each school depends on:
- The number of students who apply for the school
- Their relative performance in the placement test
- The number of places available in the school
- How many offers are declined by parents (for offers from the reserve lists)
The more sought-after a school is, the more challenging it is to receive an offer.
Supply and demand play a major role in the difficulty of getting into a school, but the Year 12 HSC marks also influence the difficulty. Based on the demand for the school, the HSC ranking, and the 2021 cut-off mark, we have created a table to help you decide which schools to include on your application.
We have split the school ranking into 3 tiers. So when making choices for your school avoid choosing 2 or more schools within the same tier. To maximise your chances, we recommend in picking 1 school from each tier.
Your preference order should be from the highest tier to the lowest.
*Partial Selective Schools | 2024 & 2023 HSC school rankings taken from SMH
How do you decide which 3 schools you should apply for the Selective Test?
Look at the location:
- How close the school is to your home?
- How would your child travel to/from the school?
- How long will it take to travel to/from the school?
- A long travel time could have a negative impact on your child’s education. They will be making this journey 5 days a week for 6 years.
What subjects & extracurricular activities are available at the school:
- What accelerated subjects does the school offer?
- The availability of specific electives e.g. a particular language etc.
- Opportunity to take extracurricular opportunities e.g. sports, music, and arts programs.
Selective schools have open days so you can attend and check out the school and see what they offer and if the school is aligned with your child’s needs to achieve their future academic goals.
Start with a rough preliminary list of 3 schools you and your child are interested. You can fine-tune your preferences once your child has completed the exam, based on how they think they did in the exam. Final changes for your preferred school will open after the test on the 4th of May and must be submitted by the closing date of 18th May 2025.
We recommend you regularly check the NSW education website for any changes and updates. Any updates and changes will also be sent to your NSW education application portal.
How can you help your child?
Prepare, prepare, and prepare! Keep practicing past test papers and mock exams, and keep reviewing the concepts and topics of the test: Mathematical Reasoning, English Comprehension, Writing, and Thinking Skills.
Test marking weights. All sections have EQUAL weighting:
Selective Test Marking Weight table
Work on time management skills, try answering each question in 1 minute, given time constraints for their homework, Give them 10 questions to complete in 10 minutes.
Keep encouraging your child to keep practicing, even on the hard questions, it is a selective test, so the questions are supposed to be hard.
Now is the crucial time to focus on targeted performances. As your Award-Winning Tutoring Centre in Sydney, Call Global Education Academy today to book a Selective benchmark assessment and discover where your child’s true potential lies.
A Selective Benchmark assessment provides insight into your child’s current strengths and identifies any areas of weakness. It includes the four components of the Selective placement test and serves as the initial evaluation for our Selective Preparation Course. This assessment provides you with the clarity needed to make an informed decision.
