Selective schools · Profile
Merewether High: Selective Entry & Places
Merewether High School is a fully academically selective co-educational high school in Broadmeadow, Newcastle. It offers 180 Year 7 selective places, entered through the Selective High School Placement Test.
Newcastle's only fully selective school, formed in 1977 from two older schools and selective since 1989, serving the whole Hunter region.
Merewether High School at a glance
| Type | Fully selective |
|---|---|
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Suburb | Broadmeadow, Newcastle |
| Year 7 places | 180, 2027 entry — per aggregated Department data (AcePath) |
| Entry routes | Year 7 via the Selective High School Placement Test.The school also accepts applications for Years 8–12, decided by a school-based panel. |
| Boarding | None — day school. |
| Official website | merewether-h.schools.nsw.gov.au |
How entry works
Year 7 entry to Merewether 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: The school also accepts applications for Years 8–12, decided by a school-based panel.
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 Merewether High School that figure was 184/300 (185/300 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 Merewether High as an estimate, not a fact.
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
- Established in 1977 through a merger of Newcastle Technical High School and Cooks Hill Girls High School; became academically selective in 1989. source
- The only fully academically selective high school in Newcastle, serving the Hunter region. source
- Offers music ensembles, robotics and chess clubs, and competes in Odyssey of the Mind. source
Families near Broadmeadow
Other nearby areas: Merewether, Hamilton, New Lambton, Adamstown, Charlestown, Kotara.