Selective schools · Profile
Prairiewood High: Selective Entry & Places
Prairiewood High School is a partially selective co-educational high school in Wetherill Park, South-western Sydney. It offers 60 Year 7 selective places, entered through the Selective High School Placement Test.
A Wetherill Park school with an on-campus observatory and an agricultural facility, running a selective stream across each year group.
Prairiewood High School at a glance
| Type | Partially selective |
|---|---|
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Suburb | Wetherill Park, South-western Sydney |
| Year 7 places | 60, 2027 entry — per aggregated Department data (AcePath) |
| Entry routes | Year 7 via the Selective High School Placement Test.The main selective entry is Year 7 via the Placement Test; later-year selective vacancies are filled through the Department's selective placement process. |
| Boarding | None — day school. |
| Official website | prairiewoo-h.schools.nsw.gov.au |
How entry works
Year 7 entry to Prairiewood 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 main selective entry is Year 7 via the Placement Test; later-year selective 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 Prairiewood High School that figure was 181/300 (174/300 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 Prairiewood 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 1984; caters for roughly 1,200 students across Years 7–12.
- Has an on-campus observatory with a telescope used for astronomy studies, and an agricultural facility with livestock and produce.
- Highly multicultural, with a large majority of students from a language background other than English.
Families near Wetherill Park
Many families sitting for Prairiewood High come from the surrounding suburbs. We compare the selective coaching options — centre by centre, with published prices — for Fairfield and Cabramatta.
Other nearby areas: Bossley Park, Greenfield Park, Smithfield, Fairfield West, Edensor Park.