NSW Selective Test dates 2027 (and OC test dates): the full timeline.

Which "2027" do you mean?

"Selective test 2027" turns up two different answers, a full year apart, and search results mix them together.

Year 7 entry in 2027 is the cycle that just finished. Its test was sat on 1–2 May 2026 — so if you searched "selective test 2026" hoping for this year's dates, you were in the right place: the test itself happened in 2026, for entry the following year, and results are due in Term 3 2026.

The test sitting in 2027 is a different cycle entirely: it's for Year 7 entry in 2028, sat by students who are in Year 5 right now. That's the cycle most of this page is built around, because it's the one nobody has confirmed dates for yet. For the full run-through of the whole process — eligibility, applications, appeals — see our NSW Selective Test guide.

How the timeline has shifted since 2025

Two things changed the shape of this timeline, and both are worth knowing before assuming next year runs exactly like this year did.

On 2 May 2025, testing at three large venues — Randwick Racecourse, Sydney Olympic Park and Canterbury Racecourse — broke down badly enough that police were called to manage crowds, and the Department postponed testing part-way through the day. Contemporary reporting put the number of affected sittings near 20,000; the independent review's final count was 14,532 postponed sittings (Bruniges review, July 2025). Those students resat over the following two weekends, 17–18 May and 24–25 May 2025. The Department commissioned an independent review from Dr Michele Bruniges, who found no meaningful scoring advantage for students who sat a resit and confirmed the different test versions used were of equal difficulty — but concluded the venues, not the students, were the failure point (see the NSW Government's independent review outcome, accessed 8 July 2026).

For 2026, the Department accepted every recommendation of that review: no more single mega-venues, a cap of 300 students at large school venues and 180 at smaller ones, one test session per school per day, and logistics run directly by Department staff rather than an outside events contractor. That's what happened on 1–2 May 2026 — testing spread across local public school settings, not stadiums or racecourses. If 2027 follows the same approach, expect a similar spread of smaller local venues rather than a return to mass sittings — though the Department hasn't said so explicitly for the 2028-entry cycle yet.

Equal places for girls and boys, from 2027 entry

From the 2027-entry cohort onward — the students who sat the test in May 2026 — the Department guarantees an equal number of places for girls and boys at every selective and partially selective high school, and in every opportunity class. The change responds to a widening gap: selective high schools currently sit at 58 per cent boys to 42 per cent girls, opportunity classes at 60/40, and girls' share of OC places has fallen from 45 per cent in 2019 to 41 per cent in 2025. Selection still runs entirely on placement test performance — the guarantee changes how offers are balanced across genders once results are in, not the test itself or how it's marked, and nobody already enrolled or offered a 2026 place is affected. The policy was announced in October 2025, ahead of that November's application window, and carries into the 2028-entry cycle as well (NSW Government, "Applications to open for 2027 selective school entry, with a healthy gender balance introduced", accessed 8 July 2026).

When to start practising

The November to February application window is when most families begin practising seriously: the application is submitted, the test is still three months away, and there is time to prepare. The two-week Christmas and January school holidays fall in the middle of that window and give a clear block for daily practice, with a spare hour a day and no homework competing for it.

If you want to see what the format looks like before committing to anything, one paper is free for 24 hours in each subject — Mathematical Reasoning and Thinking Skills — sat online in the same format as the real test, no card required. To keep going, one pass unlocks every paper, from $12 for a day, no subscription. See passes & pricing →. For what the Department itself gives away free, and where it falls short, see our Selective Test past papers guide.

Keep going

For the full run-through of dates, eligibility, and what to expect end to end, start with the NSW Selective Test guide. For what the Department gives away free and what it doesn't, see Selective Test past papers. And once results are out, our Selective Test results and cut-offs guide covers how offers and minimum entry scores work.