Selective schools · Profile
Parramatta High: Selective Entry & Places
Parramatta High School is a partially selective co-educational high school in Parramatta, Western Sydney. It offers 60 Year 7 selective places, entered through the Selective High School Placement Test.
One of Sydney's oldest co-educational secondary schools (1913), now running a selective stream alongside its comprehensive intake.
Parramatta High School at a glance
| Type | Partially selective |
|---|---|
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Suburb | Parramatta, Western Sydney |
| Year 7 places | 60, 2027 entry — per aggregated Department data (AcePath) |
| Entry routes | Year 7 via the Selective High School Placement Test.Selective places are offered in each of Years 7–10 under the school's bi-modal model; later-year vacancies are filled through the Department's selective placement process. |
| Boarding | None — day school. |
| Official website | parramatta-h.schools.nsw.gov.au |
How entry works
Year 7 entry to Parramatta 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: Selective places are offered in each of Years 7–10 under the school's bi-modal model; later-year vacancies are filled through the Department's selective placement process.
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 Parramatta High School that figure was 204/300 (201/300 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 Parramatta 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 1913; described as the first co-educational secondary school in the Sydney metropolitan area.
- Runs an academically selective stream alongside its comprehensive intake (partially selective since the early 2010s); it was formerly fully selective.
- Serves a highly multicultural student community in the Parramatta area.
Families near Parramatta
Many families sitting for Parramatta High come from the surrounding suburbs. We compare the selective coaching options — centre by centre, with published prices — for Parramatta, Wentworthville and Carlingford.
Other nearby areas: Harris Park, Westmead, Granville, North Parramatta, Rosehill.