Selective schools · Profile
James Ruse Agricultural High: Selective Entry & Places
James Ruse Agricultural High School is a fully academically selective co-educational agricultural high school in Carlingford, Western Sydney. It offers 120 Year 7 selective places (60 boys, 60 girls), entered through the Selective High School Placement Test.
A co-educational agricultural selective school where agriculture is compulsory in Years 7–10; students tend individual crop plots on a working farm.
Day places only (no boarding). Agriculture is compulsory in Years 7–10.
James Ruse Agricultural High School at a glance
| Type | Fully selective · agricultural |
|---|---|
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Suburb | Carlingford, Western Sydney |
| Year 7 places | 120 (60 boys, 60 girls), 2027 entry — per aggregated Department data (AcePath) |
| Entry routes | Year 7 via the Selective High School Placement Test.A small number of students are accepted into Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 by application made directly to the school. |
| Boarding | None — day school. |
| Official website | jamesruse-h.schools.nsw.gov.au |
How entry works
Year 7 entry to James Ruse Agricultural High runs through the statewide NSW Selective High School Placement Test, sat in Year 6. There is no separate school exam and no catchment for selective places — you nominate the school among your preferences, and offers are made from a single statewide placement score. The steps and deadlines are in our application walkthrough.
About one applicant in four receives a selective place across the state. A miss says very little about a capable child — with roughly four applicants for every place, the maths alone means most well-prepared children miss out, and are fine.
Later years: A small number of students are accepted into Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 by application made directly to the school.
The last-published entry score — read this honestly
The last time the Department published a per-school minimum entry score was for 2021 entry, on the retired 300-point scale. For James Ruse Agricultural High School that figure was 248/300 (246/300 the year before).
That is a historical record, not a current cut-off. The test and its scoring have changed since — four equally-weighted components, computer-based, no school-assessment mark — the Department no longer publishes per-school minimums, and it states plainly that there is no set entry score. Treat any "current" cut-off you see quoted for James Ruse Agricultural High as an estimate, not a fact.
On the last-published (2021) figures, this was the highest minimum entry score of any NSW selective school. That was a historical old-system figure, not a current cut-off.
Where these figures come from, why the Department stopped publishing them, and how to sanity-check any number you read: our cut-off scores guide.
Known for
- A fully academically selective co-educational agricultural high school (Years 7–12), established in 1959. source
- One of four NSW government agricultural high schools; Agriculture is a compulsory subject for Years 7–10. source
- Operates a working farm (around 10 hectares) with vegetable plots, glasshouses, orchards and livestock; students maintain individual crop plots. source
Families near Carlingford
Many families sitting for James Ruse Agricultural High come from the surrounding suburbs. We compare the selective coaching options — centre by centre, with published prices — for Carlingford, Epping, Eastwood, Parramatta, Baulkham Hills and Castle Hill.
Other nearby areas: Beecroft, Dundas, Northmead, Telopea.