Selective schools · Profile
Sefton High: Selective Entry & Places
Sefton High School is a partially selective co-educational high school in Sefton, South-western Sydney. It offers 88 Year 7 selective places (44 boys, 44 girls), entered through the Selective High School Placement Test.
Reported as the first partially selective high school in NSW, academically selective since 1989.
The place count (around 88, 44 boys / 44 girls) is from a secondary source, not the Department's own list.
Sefton High School at a glance
| Type | Partially selective |
|---|---|
| Gender | Co-educational |
| Suburb | Sefton, South-western Sydney |
| Year 7 places | 88 (44 boys, 44 girls) — a secondary source |
| Entry routes | Year 7 via the Selective High School Placement Test.Year 7 is the main selective entry point; later-year selective vacancies are handled by the Department's High Performing Students Unit / the school when available. |
| Boarding | None — day school. |
| Official website | sefton-h.schools.nsw.gov.au |
How entry works
Year 7 entry to Sefton 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: Year 7 is the main selective entry point; later-year selective vacancies are handled by the Department's High Performing Students Unit / the school when available.
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 Sefton High School that figure was 188/300 (192/300 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 Sefton 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
- One of the earliest partially selective high schools in NSW (academically selective since 1989).
- A dual-modality model combining academically selected students with local community enrolment.
- Motto "Sincerity, Scholarship, Service".
Families near Sefton
Many families sitting for Sefton High come from the surrounding suburbs. We compare the selective coaching options — centre by centre, with published prices — for Bankstown and Lidcombe.
Other nearby areas: Chester Hill, Bass Hill, Regents Park, Villawood, Yagoona.