NSW Selective High Schools: Schools, Applications, Testing & Preparation

What is a selective high school?

NSW selective high schools are public schools for high-potential and gifted students. Students still follow the NSW curriculum and HSC, while schools may use extension or accelerated approaches for the cohort. The common statewide placement test is the main entry route for Year 7.

There are 4,338 Year 7 places across NSW. Intakes range from selective streams of around 30 students to cohorts of 180. Current examples include 90 boys and 90 girls at Baulkham Hills, 60 and 60 at James Ruse, 150 at North Sydney Boys, 150 at North Sydney Girls and 180 at Sydney Boys. Use the live official list for every school and intake.

When and how to apply

For Year 7 entry, families generally apply around the end of Year 5 or start of Year 6, and students test during Year 6. Students from public, non-government, home, interstate and overseas schooling may apply, but the family must be living in NSW by the start of the entry year and satisfy citizenship, residency or eligible-visa conditions.

The online application allows up to three schools in preference order. First preference does not earn bonus points, but where a student reaches the level needed for several schools, the initial offer comes from the highest available preference only. Consider travel, culture, subjects and co-curricular life, then rank schools in the order the student genuinely wants.

The four test sections

The test is computer based. The first three sections are multiple choice and Writing is an open response. Reading covers varied texts; Mathematical Reasoning requires reasoning without a calculator; Thinking Skills uses verbal, numerical and spatial problems. Writing looks at how effectively a student develops, organises and communicates ideas for the stated purpose and audience.

Preparation is more than doing large volumes of hard questions

• Use the Department’s free official materials to learn the current computer format and task types.
• For Reading, identify textual evidence and explain why alternatives are weaker.
• For reasoning, practise organising conditions quickly and moving on when a problem stalls.
• Do not assume every Writing prompt is a story; practise planning, writing and reviewing within 30 minutes for different purposes.
• After a mock, classify errors as knowledge, reading, timing or decision-making rather than recording only a percentage.

Fair access and entry after Year 7

Up to 20% of places are reserved under the fair-access model: 10% for low socio-educational advantage, 5% for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, 2.5% for rural and remote students, and 2.5% for students with disability. It is not a separate application and eligibility conditions apply, including performance within the stated range of the general-entry minimum.

Entry to Years 8–11 is separate from the common Year 7 process. Each school decides vacancies, documents and any test or interview, and a separate application is made to each school. Some year groups may have no vacancy. Start checking individual school pages around June–July in the year before entry.