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 →
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 our free PDFs with answer keys, 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.