The parent’s prep hub
NSW selective test
preparation
Get your bearings, make a plan and find useful practice. Choose what your family needs today — you don’t have to read everything.
New to the selective test? Start here →Preparing for Year 5 entry? Go to the Opportunity Class guides →
The guide library
Find your next step
Understand the test
The format, applications and the calendar.
- Start here
The NSW Selective Test: a parent's guide
Who sits the test, what it covers and how to get started. A useful first read if selective schools are new to your family.
- The format
The computer-based test, explained
A screen-by-screen look at the on-screen interface — the timer, the flag button, the question grid — since the 2025 move from paper.
- Timeline
Key dates for 2027 and 2028 entry
Applications, test day and results, with confirmed dates clearly separated from estimates.
- Applying
How to apply, step by step
The Department's online application walkthrough — the window, the school choices, what you'll need before you start, and the mistakes that can't be undone.
- Scoring
How the placement score works
How the four sections contribute to the outcome, how scaling works and how to read a performance report.
- New for 2027
The 50/50 gender split, explained
From 2027 entry, co-ed selective schools hold equal places for boys and girls. Why the Department changed the rules, and what it means for your child.
Build a practice routine
A manageable plan, official samples and guides to the question types.
- Preparation
How to prepare, month by month
A working plan back from test day — what to do nine, six, three and one month out, subject by subject, without burning your child out.
- Free practice
Free selective practice papers & questions
Try 30 questions without signing up: ten each in Maths, Thinking Skills and Reading. Then choose a full timed sample paper.
Try the free questions → - Past papers
Past papers for the Selective Test
Find official sample tests and free question-only PDFs, with guidance on using them alongside online practice.
- Reading
Every Reading question type
The five parts the Reading section splits into, in the current 38-answer format, with a worked example for each.
- Thinking Skills
Every Thinking Skills question type
The question families the 40-question section clusters into, in plain language, with worked examples.
- Mathematical Reasoning
Every Mathematical Reasoning question type
The nine families the 35 questions cluster into, with a family-mix table and four fully worked examples.
- Mathematical Reasoning
Is the maths above Year 6 level?
All 105 questions in the official practice tests, read against the Department's own answer keys and the NSW syllabus — and the four methods those answer keys actually use.
- Writing
The writing section, explained
One typed task, 30 minutes, 25% of the score — what the official prompts actually ask for, plus ten original practice prompts.
Schools & tutoring
Where the places are, and an honest map of the coaching market.
- Choosing a school
Every selective school in NSW
Compare selective high schools, their locations and Year 7 places, with guidance on making a shortlist.
- School profiles
School-by-school profiles
A profile page for every selective school — places and gender split, entry routes, the last published entry scores, and the suburbs families travel from.
- Coaching colleges
Tutoring & coaching colleges: the directory
A neutral, verified comparison of the major colleges — published prices where they exist, delivery, locations and free trials.
- Tutoring near you
Selective coaching, suburb by suburb
Start with Hurstville, then explore linked suburb and regional guides to compare nearby tutoring options.
Understand results & offers
Performance reports, offers and reserve lists, explained one step at a time.
- Results day
Selective Test results: when and how
When outcomes are released, how the Department tells you, and what an offer, a reserve-list place or no offer each mean for the year ahead.
- Reserve lists
Reserve lists: how offers move
What a reserve place means, what bands A–F (selective) and A–E (opportunity class) actually estimate, when the lists stop moving, and which decisions can't be undone.
- Outcomes
Results and cut-offs
Why the Department does not publish current school-by-school cut-offs, and how to interpret the historical figures.
The Opportunity Class
The test taken in Year 4 for entry to Year 5.
- The OC Test
The OC Test: a parent's complete guide
What the OC Test covers, who sits it, the Year 5 entry numbers, and how it differs from the Year 7 Selective Test.
- OC vs Selective
OC vs Selective: what's actually different
Two different tests, two different years, two separate applications — a plain comparison of format, timing and odds.
- OC practice
Practice tests for the OC Test
Find the Department's free OC sample tests and learn how to use them for practice at home.
- OC schools
Every opportunity class in NSW
Opportunity classes grouped by area, including alternate-year intakes and guidance on comparing your options.
- OC timeline
OC Test dates: confirmed vs expected
Applications, test day and results for the OC cycle — tracked the same way as our Selective dates page.
- OC outcomes
OC results: when they come, what they mean
The results timeline, placement outcomes and reserve lists — and an honest word about what a miss does and doesn't mean in Year 4.
Put it into practice
Ready for a practice paper?
Try a full NSW selective practice paper in Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills or Reading. Sit it online, then work through the answers and explanations together.
Our own questions, in a player designed to look and feel like the official sample. Practise using the timer, question grid and flag controls before test day. Selective Papers NSW is an independent resource, not affiliated with the Department of Education or Janison.