Australian Selective School Statistics 2026: State-by-State Data

Australia has a competitive network of selective high schools and gifted-education programs across every state. This page brings together figures that can be traced to official government or exam-administrator sources — places available, students who sat placement tests, and program scale — so families can understand the national landscape before choosing a selective school preparation path.

Where an authority does not publish applicant or acceptance figures, this page says so rather than estimating. Percentages labelled “places vs sitters” are calculated from official place counts and official “students who sat the test” counts; they are not the same as a published “acceptance rate” from the department.

How large are the main selective programs?

The largest program by volume is NSW, which runs both the Selective High School Placement Test (Year 7 entry) and the Opportunity Class Placement Test (Year 5 entry). The table below uses only figures published by state education departments or their appointed exam administrators.

Program	State	Students who sat (latest official)	Places per year (official)	Places vs sitters
Selective High School Placement Test	NSW	16,487 (2024 test)	4,338 Year 7 places	~26%
Opportunity Class Placement Test	NSW	13,200 (2024 test)	1,840 Year 5 places	~14%
Selective Entry High Schools (SEHS)	VIC	Not published on the public SEHS page	~1,000 Year 9 places	Not published
Gifted and Talented (all pathways)	WA	Over 7,000 applicants (2025)	Academic Year 7 vacancies published by school (see WA section)	Not a single statewide rate

Sources: NSW Department of Education performance-report examples and school-list pages; Victorian Government SEHS page; WA Department of Education Gifted and Talented materials. Checked July 2026.[^1] [^2] [^3] [^4] [^8] [^9]

Queensland Academies and South Australia’s IGNITE program do not publish comparable statewide applicant/places tables on the public pages reviewed for this update, so they are covered qualitatively below rather than with invented numbers.

What are the NSW selective high school figures?

NSW operates fully selective, partially selective and agricultural selective high schools, plus Aurora College (virtual selective classes for rural and remote students). The Selective High School Placement Test is held annually for students seeking Year 7 entry.

Official NSW Department of Education figures:

Metric	Figure	Source
Students who sat the 2024 Selective High School Placement Test	16,487	NSW DoE performance report example (2024 test for Year 7 entry in 2025)[^3]
Year 6 cohort in NSW (2024, approx.)	~101,800	Same report — sitters were ~16% of Year 6[^3]
Year 7 selective places available	4,338	NSW DoE selective high schools page[^1]
Places vs 2024 sitters	~26%	Calculated from the two official figures above

Our NSW selective school preparation programme is designed around this demand pattern.

NSW selective high school types (official counts):[^1] [^5]

Type	Count	Description
Fully selective high schools	17	All Year 7 places filled through the selective placement process
Partially selective high schools	27	A selective stream alongside a local comprehensive intake (Year 7 entry)
Agricultural selective high schools	4	Selective schools with an agriculture emphasis (some with boarding)
Virtual selective (Aurora College)	1	Online selective classes for eligible rural and remote students

Examples of fully selective high schools listed by NSW DoE include Baulkham Hills High School, Caringbah High School, Fort Street High School, Girraween High School, Gosford High School, Hornsby Girls High School, Merewether High School, Normanhurst Boys High School, Northern Beaches Secondary College Manly campus, North Sydney Boys High School, North Sydney Girls High School, Penrith High School, Smiths Hill High School, St George Girls High School, Sydney Boys High School, Sydney Girls High School and Sydney Technical High School. Agricultural selective schools include James Ruse Agricultural High School, Hurlstone Agricultural High School, Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School and Yanco Agricultural High School.[^1]

The placement tests are computer-based. Students sit on computers provided by the department.[^6]

What are the NSW Opportunity Class figures?

The NSW Opportunity Class (OC) Placement Test is sat in Year 4 for placement in Years 5–6 OC classes. Preparation pathways are covered in our Opportunity Class preparation hub.

Metric	Figure	Source
Students who sat the 2024 OC Placement Test	13,200	NSW DoE OC performance report example[^4]
Year 4 cohort in NSW (2024, approx.)	~98,900	Same report — sitters were ~13% of Year 4[^4]
Year 5 OC places available	1,840	NSW DoE opportunity classes page[^2]
Opportunity classes in NSW	89	NSW DoE opportunity classes page[^2]
Places vs 2024 sitters	~14%	Calculated from the two official figures above

Current OC test structure (computer-based, all multiple choice):[^7]

Section	Questions	Time
Reading	14 (some with multiple parts)	40 minutes
Mathematical Reasoning	35	40 minutes
Thinking Skills	30	30 minutes

What are Victoria's selective entry high school statistics?

Victoria has four Selective Entry High Schools (SEHS): Melbourne High School (boys), The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, Nossal High School (co-educational) and Suzanne Cory High School (co-educational). Entry for Year 9 is through a centralised examination administered by ACER on behalf of the Victorian Department of Education.[^8] [^10] Families weighing an application can start with our Victoria SEHS FAQ for dates, caps and eligibility.

Metric	Figure	Source
Selective Entry High Schools	4	Victorian Government SEHS page[^8]
Year 9 places (approx.)	~1,000 across the four schools	Victorian Government SEHS page[^8]
Statewide applicant / sitter total	Not published on the public SEHS page reviewed	—

Places are offered under a published selection policy: standard merit (85%), equity consideration (up to 10%), and principal discretion (up to 5%).[^8]

Current exam structure (ACER):[^10]

Component	Time
Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning	60 minutes
Reading and Verbal Reasoning	55 minutes
Writing (two tasks)	40 minutes

Exam tasks take 2 hours 35 minutes; the full administration including registration and breaks is about four hours.[^10]

Victorian students should confirm the current test format and dates on vic.gov.au and the ACER SEHS site before commencing preparation.

How competitive are Queensland Academies?

Queensland has three specialist academies for senior secondary students: the Queensland Academy for Science, Mathematics and Technology (QASMT), the Queensland Academy for Creative Industries (QACI) and the Queensland Academy for Health Sciences (QAHS). Enrolment is managed through the Queensland Academies Admissions Office and includes entrance testing and other merit components; public enrolment-eligibility plans describe a merit process against available capacity rather than publishing a single statewide applicant/places table.[^11]

Brisbane State High School also runs selective academic pathways. Official statewide applicant and places totals for Queensland Academies and for BSHS selective entry were not verified from a Tier 1 public statistical release for this update, so this page does not publish estimated acceptance rates for those programs. The BSHS selective exam preparation hub covers preparation strategies for the Brisbane State High School selective pathway.

What about South Australia and Western Australia?

South Australia — IGNITE Program

South Australia’s IGNITE program is a gifted-education pathway offered at selected public secondary schools. The South Australian Department for Education’s special-interest schools list identifies IGNITE at Aberfoyle Park High School, Glenunga International High School and The Heights School.[^12]

Official statewide annual applicant and places totals for IGNITE were not found on the public department pages reviewed for this update, so acceptance-rate estimates are not published here. Our IGNITE program preparation hub covers test format and study strategies where schools use aptitude assessment for entry.

Western Australia — Gifted and Talented / ASET

Western Australia’s Gifted and Talented Secondary Selective Entrance programs are available at 24 select public secondary schools, including a fully selective academic school (Perth Modern School), arts and languages programs, regional options and an online academic program for country students.[^9]

Official WA Department of Education materials state there were over 7,000 applicants from WA, interstate and overseas in 2025 across Gifted and Talented pathways.[^13]

All applicants must sit the Academic Selective Entrance Test (ASET). Year 7 academic vacancies are published by school in the Applicant Guidelines. Face-to-face academic Year 7 vacancies listed for the 2027 intake sum to 769 places across the academic programs at Albany SHS, Alkimos College, Bob Hawke College, Bunbury SHS, Carine SHS, Comet Bay College, Duncraig SHS, Ellenbrook SC, Fremantle College, Governor Stirling SHS, Harrisdale SHS, Kelmscott SHS, Melville SHS, Perth Modern School (225), Shenton College (64) and Willetton SHS (64), with an additional online academic program listed as unlimited for eligible country students.[^14]

Because the “over 7,000 applicants” figure covers academic, arts and languages pathways together, this page does not convert that into a single statewide acceptance percentage. Preparation resources are covered in the ASET and GATE exam preparation hub.

EduTest is also used as a selection tool by independent schools in SA, WA and VIC for scholarship and academic-program entry — the EduTest selective school and scholarship exam hub covers that pathway.

Is competition for selective schools increasing?

What can be stated from official sources without inventing year-by-year series:

• NSW selective demand is large relative to places. In 2024, 16,487 students sat the Selective High School Placement Test against 4,338 Year 7 places.[^1] [^3]
• NSW OC demand is also large relative to places. In 2024, 13,200 students sat the OC test against 1,840 Year 5 places.[^2] [^4]
• Victoria publishes places, not a public statewide applicant total. About 1,000 Year 9 places are available across four SEHS schools.[^8]
• WA reports high absolute demand. Over 7,000 Gifted and Talented applicants in 2025, with academic Year 7 vacancies published school-by-school.[^13] [^14]
• NSW testing is computer-based. Both the OC and Selective High School placement tests are delivered on department-provided computers.[^6]

Historical year-by-year applicant tables that previously appeared on this page have been removed because the precise annual figures could not be verified against current Tier 1 statistical releases. When NSW DoE or other authorities publish updated multi-year series, those can be restored with citations.

Where does this data come from?

Figures on this page are drawn from official government and exam-administrator sources checked in July 2026:

• NSW Department of Education — selective high school and opportunity class school lists, place counts, placement-test pages, and official performance-report examples stating how many students sat the 2024 tests.[^1] [^2] [^3] [^4] [^5] [^6] [^7]
• Victorian Government / Department of Education — Selective Entry High Schools policy page (schools, ~1,000 Year 9 places, selection categories).[^8]
• ACER — Victorian SEHS exam format and timing.[^10]
• WA Department of Education — Gifted and Talented program overview, applicant volume statement, and published Year 7 vacancies.[^9] [^13] [^14]
• South Australian Department for Education — special-interest / IGNITE school list.[^12]
• Queensland Department of Education — Queensland Academies enrolment-eligibility materials (process described; statewide applicant totals not used here because not verified as a published statistical series).[^11]

If a figure is not on an official page or official PDF, it is not presented as fact on this page.

[^1]: NSW Department of Education, Selective high schools. https://education.nsw.gov.au/schooling/parents-and-carers/choosing-a-school-setting/selective-high-schools/choosing-a-school/selective-high-schools.html [^2]: NSW Department of Education, Opportunity classes. https://education.nsw.gov.au/schooling/parents-and-carers/choosing-a-school-setting/selective-high-schools/choosing-a-school/opportunity-classes.html [^3]: NSW Department of Education, Selective High School Placement Test Performance Report Example. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/media/Selective_High_School_Placement_Test_Performance_Report_Example.pdf [^4]: NSW Department of Education, Opportunity Class Placement Test Performance Report Example. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/media/Opportunity_Class_Placement_Test_Performance_Report_Example.pdf [^5]: NSW Department of Education, Opportunity classes and selective high schools fact sheet. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/media/OC_and_selective_high_schools_fact_sheet.pdf [^6]: NSW Department of Education, Placement test. https://education.nsw.gov.au/schooling/parents-and-carers/choosing-a-school-setting/selective-high-schools/placement-test.html [^7]: NSW Department of Education, Opportunity class practice tests. https://education.nsw.gov.au/schooling/parents-and-carers/choosing-a-school-setting/selective-high-schools/placement-test/opportunity-class-practice-tests.html [^8]: Victorian Government, Selective entry high schools. https://www.vic.gov.au/selective-entry-high-schools [^9]: WA Department of Education, Gifted and Talented. https://www.education.wa.edu.au/gifted-and-talented [^10]: ACER, Victorian Selective Entry High Schools — Prepare. https://selectiveentry.acer.org/vic/prepare [^11]: Queensland Department of Education, Queensland Academies enrolment eligibility plans (e.g. QASMT). https://education.qld.gov.au/parents-and-carers/enrolment/management-plans/enrolment-eligibility-plans/queensland-academy-for-science-mathematics-and-technology [^12]: South Australian Department for Education, List of high schools with special interest or specialist programs. https://www.education.sa.gov.au/parents-and-families/curriculum-and-learning/primary-and-secondary/special-interest-schools-and-programs/list-high-schools-special-interest-or-specialist-programs [^13]: WA Department of Education, Gifted and Talented Secondary Selective Entrance programs overview materials. https://www.education.wa.edu.au/dl/zl2kj1rj [^14]: WA Department of Education, Applicant Guidelines — Gifted and Talented Secondary Selective Entrance programs (Year 7 vacancies for 2027). https://www.education.wa.edu.au/dl/9qeezn9