NSW Selective Schools Directory

Most NSW selective high schools sit in Sydney, and their entry cut-offs span a wide band. James Ruse Agricultural High School has long recorded the highest cut-off in the state, while partially selective schools such as Bonnyrigg sit well below it. A higher cut-off reflects stronger demand for a school rather than a better education in absolute terms, so the spread in the table above is a map of competition, not of quality. When you read it, pay attention to the schools within realistic daily travel of your home as much as to the schools at the top of the list, because a placement you can sustain for six years matters more than the headline name. For how to prepare for the test itself, start with our selective school preparation hub.

A cut-off score is simply the lowest placement score of a student who was offered a place at that school in a given year. It is not fixed in advance by the NSW Department of Education; it emerges from the strength of that year's applicant pool and the number of places available. Scores are reported out of 300 and move each year with demand, which is why the 2024 figures in this directory are a guide rather than a guaranteed threshold. A school whose cut-off rose one year can fall the next, so use recent figures to gauge competitiveness, not to predict an exact target.

The application lets you nominate schools in order of preference, and placement combines your child's test performance with those preferences and the places available at each school. List schools you would genuinely accept, balancing ambition with the daily commute your family can sustain. Partially selective schools, which run selective streams alongside a local comprehensive intake, are a realistic option worth including for many families. If some of your shortlist are independent schools rather than government selective schools, check whether they use EduTest instead on our NSW schools using EduTest guide.