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NSW · Selective High School preparation

Selective school preparation 2027–28: NSW Year 6 placement test guide

Tutoring and mock-test packs for the Year 6 NSW Selective High School Placement Test, covering all 47 fully or partially selective schools in NSW.

By Braintree Editorial, Exam preparation editors, Braintree Coaching Australia

Reviewed by Braintree Academic Panel on

Last updated

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47 selective schools in NSW · Year 6 entry · computer-based · 4,338 Year 7 places

What we observed in the 2025 NSW Selective coaching cohort

Of our 2025 NSW Selective coaching cohort (Year 6 students through the May 2025 sitting), fortnightly full computer-based mocks in the final term were the preparation step tutors most often credited in parent check-ins before outcomes day (programme observation; not a placement guarantee).

Source: Braintree Coaching Australia tutor records (2025). Tutor follow-up notes and published Selective mock cadence; Debrief 2 2026-07-01.

Mock test packs

Selective High School practice packs — timed papers, marked on the LMS.

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About the exam

The Selective High School test, in plain language.

The NSW Selective High School Placement Test is a computer-based assessment that determines Year 7 entry to 47 fully or partially selective public high schools across the state. Students sit it in Year 6, in early May. Results are released in late August, with placement offers confirmed through August and September and reserve-list placements running through to the first weeks of Year 7.

The test is administered by the NSW Department of Education. Every applicant sits the same paper. There is no curriculum to learn ahead of the test in the conventional sense — the paper assesses reasoning skills built across years of reading, mathematics and structured thinking. Preparation works best when it is treated as fluency-building rather than content-cramming.

Test dates

For Year 7 entry in 2027, applications opened 6 November 2025 and closed 20 February 2026. The placement test main sitting is 1–2 May 2026 (one day per student), with a make-up sitting on 22 May 2026. Outcomes are released around late August 2026, with later reserve rounds through late September 2026. The NSW Department of Education has not yet published the 2028 cycle dates as at July 2026 — treat any third-party 2028 dates as predictions until confirmed.

Scoring & cutoffs

Raw scores are scaled into a placement score out of 300, then combined with school assessment scores. James Ruse cutoff is roughly 232; entry-tier schools accept from around 175. Cutoffs shift year to year — see the calculator for current-year estimates.

  • Reading

    40 min30

    Mixed text types — narrative fiction, persuasive prose, informational and procedural. Inference, vocabulary in context, author's purpose.

  • Thinking Skills

    30 min30

    Pattern completion, syllogisms, sentence-completion under constraint, logic puzzles. No calculator. Roughly one question a minute.

  • Mathematical Reasoning

    40 min35

    Whole numbers, fractions, ratios, area, perimeter, recurring multi-step word problems. Throughput matters more than content.

  • Writing

    30 min1

    Stimulus-based — typically an image, sometimes a short text. Single-marked. The student writes a piece in response to the stimulus.

Mock test packs

Selective High School mock packs, currently on sale.

Self-paced practice papers, with writing marked on the BrainTree LMS within 24 hours. Buy once, sit whenever — every pack ships with cohort percentiles and section-level feedback.

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How we prepare children: high-expectation, low-burnout

Braintree Coaching Australia works to a high-expectation, low-burnout standard across every program: we cap weekly hours, protect sleep, and teach the thinking, not just drill the answers so a child understands why an answer is right rather than memorising past papers.

Read our high-expectation, low-burnout preparation philosophy for recommended weekly study caps by student profile, the 8–10 hour sleep guardrail, and three sample weekly schedules.

Selective High School results and parent testimonial

Results, reported honestly.

We publish anonymised cohort ranges and the way we measure them, rather than a single placement total we cannot independently audit. See our results and outcomes for the cohort ranges, or read the measurement methodology.

“By the September sitting, the real exam felt like the twenty-first one she'd done — not the first. The fortnightly mocks were the thing that changed our daughter's preparation.”

Priya R.

Parent · Year 6, accepted to James Ruse

How to prepare for the NSW Selective test 2027

Use this numbered checklist when you move from understanding what a selective school is to building a prep runway. The May 2026 sitting for 2027 entry is a completed historical cycle.

  1. Confirm the 2027-cycle dates and school preferences. Check the verified key-dates on this page against the NSW Department of Education application and placement-test pages. Nominate up to three selective schools in genuine preference order before applications close — the algorithm respects your stated order.
  2. Run a diagnostic mock under computer-based timing. Sit one full timed mock on a computer — not on paper — and log mistakes by section. Use the NSW Selective test format guide for official section counts and the selective past papers page for free PDF sets between mocks.
  3. Build a twelve-month prep runway before the next sitting. Schedule weekly component practice, typed writing feedback, and fortnightly full mocks in the final term. Track reserve-list band movement patterns if you are waiting on outcomes — our tutor notes summarise typical band timing from recent rounds.
FAQ

Selective High School, plainly answered.

Five questions our faculty fields most often about the Selective High School exam.

Four sections sat in one sitting: Reading (30 questions, 40 min), Thinking Skills (30 questions, 30 min), Mathematical Reasoning (35 questions, 40 min), and Writing (1 task, 30 min).

For Year 7 entry in 2027, the NSW Selective High School Placement Test main sitting is 1–2 May 2026 (each student sits on one allocated day), with a make-up sitting on 22 May 2026. Applications for this cycle opened 6 November 2025 and closed 20 February 2026. Outcomes are released around late August 2026, with reserve rounds through late September 2026.

No. Each student sits the test once. There are very narrow medical-exemption exceptions, but the May sitting is a one-shot event.

Approximate historical cutoffs (out of 300): James Ruse 232+, North Sydney Boys/Girls 225+, Sydney Boys/Girls 220+, Baulkham Hills 215+. Entry-tier schools accept around 175.

Twelve to eighteen months of structured weekly preparation is the median for students who place at mid- to high-tier selective schools. Shorter is possible for students already strong in reading and maths.

No. The NSW Department of Education has not yet published key dates for the 2028 Selective entry cycle as at July 2026. Treat any third-party 2028 dates as predictions only until the Department releases the official timeline.

Official NSW Department of Education practice and past-paper PDFs — Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills and Writing — are available free on our NSW Selective past papers page. Pair paper sets with computer-based mocks because the live test is sat on screen.

Start Selective High School preparation this week.

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