Queensland Academies practice resources: tests and study materials

Good practice materials matter more for the Queensland Academies entrance test than for most school assessments, because the test measures reasoning the regular curriculum does not cover and familiarity with the on-screen format is part of the preparation. Braintree Coaching Australia draws its practice on the EduTest-style assessment the academies use, and this page sets out which resources to trust and how to use them within our Queensland Academies preparation programme for entry into QASMT (Queensland Academy for Science, Mathematics and Technology), QACI (Queensland Academy for Creative Industries) and QAHS (Queensland Academy for Health Sciences). If you have not yet confirmed what your child will sit, start with our Queensland Academies test format guide.

Where do the authoritative resources come from?

The single authoritative source is the Queensland Government, which publishes the Queensland Academies entry process and the assessment used for each intake. Anything else — coaching workbooks, sample packs, third-party question banks — should be checked against the official information rather than treated as definitive. Because the academies use an EduTest-style assessment, EduTest's own published sample material is the closest format match for the four core components. The table of resources below lists the primary sources to work from.

How should we use section drills?

Use short, daily section drills to build the underlying skills before layering on full-length papers. Twenty to thirty minutes a day, focused on one component at a time, builds fluency more reliably than occasional long sessions. Concentrate drilling on the two sections families most often underestimate: Numerical Reasoning, which depends on number, sequence and matrix pattern practice rather than taught arithmetic, and the calculator-free Mathematics section, where multi-step problems must be worked at speed by hand. Always practise Mathematics without a calculator, because none is permitted in the test.

How many full-length mock papers should my child sit?

Across a twelve- to eighteen-month plan most students sit roughly eight to twelve full-length mock papers, with the number rising in the final months as preparation shifts from skill building to exam simulation. The papers themselves are less important than the review: plan one to two hours after each mock to work through why each mistake happened, not simply which answers were wrong. Sit mocks under real conditions — timed, on screen, with no calculator in Mathematics — so the test-day format is familiar. Our Queensland Academies preparation strategies set out where mocks fit across the four phases of a full plan.

What free or low-cost resources are worth starting with?

Begin with the official Queensland Government information and EduTest's published sample material, both of which are freely available and set the correct expectations for format and difficulty. From there, a single good EduTest-style practice book per component is usually enough to build a daily drill routine without overwhelming a child with material. There is little benefit in buying every available pack; depth of review on a smaller set of papers beats a large library of papers sat once and never revisited.

Where to go next

Once you have the right materials, the next step is fitting them into a schedule. Our Queensland Academies preparation strategies provide a four-phase plan, our Queensland Academies results guide explains how the test is scored, and our Queensland Academies FAQ answers the questions parents ask most often. The Queensland Government publishes the authoritative description of each academy and its entry process at the official Queensland Academies website.