Selective
A plain guide to the NSW selective schools test
Updated 2026-11-01. General information for NSW families.
The selective high school placement test and the Opportunity Class placement test are different processes run for NSW public schools. Selective placement is for entry in Year 7, and students usually sit the test in Year 6. Opportunity Class placement is for entry in Year 5, and students usually sit that test in Year 4. Mixing them up leads families to prepare for the wrong year.
Applications, test dates, residency rules and the shape of the paper are set by the NSW Department of Education. They change. Before you buy a year of materials, read the current page on the department’s site. A blog, including this one, goes out of date.
In recent years the selective test has been built around reading, mathematical reasoning, thinking skills and writing. Use that as a picture of the skills, not as a leaked paper. Nobody reputable has this year’s questions. Preparation that claims otherwise is not preparation.
Reading improves when a child reads widely and can say what a paragraph did, not only when they drill passages. Mathematical reasoning still depends on arithmetic that is finished and accurate. Thinking-skill items reward students who read the constraint carefully. Writing rewards a finished piece with a point, not a memorised story that ignores the prompt.
Timed practice matters after the skill exists. Timed practice before the skill exists mostly teaches panic. Mark the work. An unmarked paper is a costume of studying.
A tutoring centre cannot secure a place. Offers depend on the test, the choices on the application, and the rules that year. Be wary of any guarantee.
Master Academy’s own selective or Opportunity Class course is not confirmed. The selective preparation page says so in plain words. Year 7–10 tutoring, for students already in high school, is a separate program and does not rewrite a placement test that has already happened.
If you are unsure which test you are even asking about, start there. The year your child is in decides the conversation. Then check the department’s dates before you book anyone.