SEHS test day: what to bring and what to expect

Test day is where months of preparation meet a single sitting, and the steadiest results come from children who know exactly what to expect before they walk in. Braintree Coaching Australia prepares students for the Victorian Selective Entry High School (SEHS) entrance exam, and this guide walks through the day itself as part of our Victoria SEHS preparation programme for Melbourne High, Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, Nossal High School and Suzanne Cory High School. If you have not yet read how the paper is structured, start with our SEHS exam format guide. Confirm schools and Year 8 → Year 9 entry on the Victorian Government selective entry page; ACER administers the sitting.

What should we do in the days before the test?

In the final days before the SEHS test, stop introducing new material and shift to light review so your child arrives confident rather than overloaded. Confirm the test centre, date and arrival time from the official application details, and plan the journey to allow for traffic or public-transport delays. Prioritise sleep across the whole week, not just the night before, and print the admission ticket and lay out identification the evening prior so the morning is calm. From our SEHS mock-review notes (sehs-mistake-bank), Quantitative Reasoning and Writing time are the sections families most often underestimate — a final week spent on calm logistics beats last-minute new drills.

What should my child bring on test day?

Pack the night before against ACER's published exam-day checklist. Must bring: proof of identity, a printed admission ticket (electronic versions are not accepted), and two blue or black pens. Also listed: a bottle of water and snacks for the break. Cannot bring: mobile phones, smart watches, calculators, translation devices or dictionaries, headphones, recording devices, notebooks or additional paper — unpermitted items may be confiscated. Confirm the current checklist and prohibited items on ACER's Victorian SEHS exam-day page before you pack.

What happens at the test centre?

Arrive about 30 minutes early so your child has time to sign in, find the exam room and use the bathroom without rushing. After check-in and storing any devices, candidates are seated for the paper-based assessment. ACER administers three timed blocks — Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning (60 minutes), Reading and Verbal Reasoning (55 minutes), and Writing (40 minutes, two tasks) — with published breaks between blocks. Exam tasks take 2 hours 35 minutes; including registration and breaks, plan for approximately 4 hours. Parents cannot remain in the test venue during the sitting.

How should my child pace each section?

Pace against the published block minutes rather than an assumed question count — ACER does not publish how many multiple-choice questions sit in each block. Encourage your child to skip a difficult question and return to it rather than losing time, and to trust a first instinct when choosing between two close options. In the Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning block, remind them there is no calculator, so multi-step problems are worked by hand. For Writing, planning briefly, writing to a clear structure across both tasks, and saving a minute to proofread produces a stronger response than writing straight away.

How can my child manage stress during the exam?

Deep breathing before the test and during breaks — breathe in for four counts, hold for four, breathe out for four — reduces anxiety and sharpens focus. Positive self-talk ("I am prepared", "I will do my best") counters negative thoughts without adding pressure. During breaks, brief stretching or a short walk releases physical tension. If concentration drifts mid-block, a five-second pause and one deep breath before re-reading the question often restores focus better than rushing ahead.

What should parents do — and avoid — on test day?

Stay calm and positive rather than showing your own anxiety. Provide a familiar, nutritious breakfast — not new foods on test morning. Arrive early with a time buffer so a traffic delay does not cause panic. Use encouraging language and avoid reminding your child of consequences if results are disappointing. Plan a relaxing post-test activity and hold off on discussing performance until your child is ready.

What happens after the test?

Once the sitting is over, results are typically released six to seven weeks later, in late July or early August, by email and mail. The outcome includes component scores and a percentile rank against the sitting cohort. For how to read those results and what the selection timeline looks like, read our SEHS results guide. The Victorian Government publishes the authoritative SEHS entry information on the selective entry high schools page; confirm test-centre and date details on ACER's Victorian SEHS hub and the apply portal for the year your child applies.

Related Victoria SEHS resources

• Victoria SEHS preparation hub
• SEHS exam format
• SEHS results guide
• Full SEHS FAQ

Last updated: 2026-08-16. Reviewed by the Braintree Coaching Academic Team.