Selective schools · Profile
Rose Bay Secondary College: Selective Entry & Places
Rose Bay Secondary College is a partially selective co-educational secondary college in Dover Heights, Eastern Suburbs. It offers 60 Year 7 selective places, entered through the Selective High School Placement Test.
An eastern-suburbs college, partially selective since 2005, split across junior (Rose Bay) and senior (Dover Heights) campuses, with a gifted maGneT program for local Years 5–6.
Operates across a senior campus (Dover Heights) and a junior campus (Rose Bay).
Rose Bay Secondary College at a glance
| Type | Partially selective |
|---|---|
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Suburb | Dover Heights, Eastern Suburbs |
| Year 7 places | 60, 2026 — the school's own enrolment page |
| Entry routes | Year 7 via the Selective High School Placement Test.Years 8–10 selective-stream enrolments are managed by the college, subject to available vacancies and academic criteria. |
| Boarding | None — day school. |
| Official website | rosebay-h.schools.nsw.gov.au |
How entry works
Year 7 entry to Rose Bay Secondary College 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: Years 8–10 selective-stream enrolments are managed by the college, subject to available vacancies and academic criteria.
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 Rose Bay Secondary College that figure was 171/300 (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 Rose Bay Secondary College 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
- A partially selective co-educational college with two selective classes in each year, formed in 2003 from the merger of Dover Heights and Vaucluse high schools; partially selective from 2005.
- Runs gifted-education programs including the maGneT program for highly gifted Years 5–6 students from local primary schools.
- Music Ensemble Program and performing/creative arts, with a student film festival and biennial musicals.
Families near Dover Heights
Many families sitting for Rose Bay Secondary College come from the surrounding suburbs. We compare the selective coaching options — centre by centre, with published prices — for Randwick.
Other nearby areas: Rose Bay, Vaucluse, Bondi, Bellevue Hill, Bondi Junction.