Understanding the Selective Exams in NSW & its Exam Format
By Post Author | 10th Oct, 2024
Did you know?
Every year thousands of students apply and appear for this cut-throat competitive entrance exam, namely the Selective High School Exams in NSW/ NSW Selective High School Placement Test for a place in the prestigious NSW Selective High Schools. The year before for around 4200 seats available, over 15000 students wrote for the test. Hence, that shows how fiercely competitive and tough the Selective Exams in NSW are.
What are the Selective Exams in NSW?
The NSW Selective High School Placement Test is an entrance test for Year 7 entry securing a seat in one of the prestigious Selective High Schools in NSW for a successful candidate. This high-stake placement test is a thorough evaluation of a prospective Year 6 candidate’s academic, cognitive, analytical and problem-solving skills for the highly demanding academic environment of the Selective High Schools.
The competition is ruthless, the seats are numbered but a focussed preparation, positive mindset and right guidance can surely help a candidate succeed the Selective Exams in NSW.
Notable changes in the Selective Exams in NSW 2025 for 2026 entry
A few things to know about the NSW Selective School Test 2025 are:
- The Selective Exams in NSW from 2025 for 2026 Year 7 entry will be computer-based online tests.
- The test has been planned to have multiple versions, and to be conducted over several scheduled dates, the days being Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
- The test will not be conducted in schools, but the NSW Department of Education-chosen external test centres within the current school’s vicinity.
- Each candidate will have access to a personal computer at the test centre during the test.
- Though the test is tough and competitive, there is no penalty for unanswered or incorrect answers.
- The Writing section responses for each candidate will be marked by 2 trained and expert examiners independently.
Key Dates of the Selective Exams in NSW 2025 for 2026 entry
- Application window- 7th November, 2024 (Thursday) – 21st February, 2025 (Friday)
- NSW Selective High School Placement Test (Online) 2025- 2nd May, 2025 (Friday) to 4th May, 2025 (Sunday)
- Make-up Test- 19th May, 2025 (Monday)
- Test outcomes to be released- Term 3, 2025
Exam Format & Structure of the Selective Exams in NSW
The test structure for the NSW Selective High School Placement Test 2025, to be conducted online, is as follows:
The four test sections of the NSW Selective High School Placement Test are:
Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills & Writing. The following breakdown of the test sections will help understand better.
- Reading:
This section tests the candidate’s multitude of reading and concerned skills from a diverse range of text types like- poetry, fictions, traditional tales, non-fiction texts, and magazine articles. The test section is divided into 4 parts mainly, but the format might slightly vary each year.
Part | Text-type | Question Format | No. of Questions |
| Part 1 | Narrative/descriptive extract from any adolescent fiction OR 2 short extracts with related literary theme | Multiple choice with 4 options | 8 |
| Part 2 | Poetry | Multiple choice with 4 options | 6 |
| Part 3 | Non-fiction excerpt with sentences removed OR Non-fiction excerpt divided into paragraphs, with a set of summarising phrases
| To be matched | 6 |
Part 4 | Short tests with related themes | Multiple choice with 4 options | 10 |
- Mathematical Reasoning:
Here the students’ ability to use their mathematical understanding and acquired knowledge for solving problems are tested. The questions range from a variety of maths topics covered in the NSW K-10 curriculum for Stage 1,2 & 3.
The students are to choose the best option from the five options given.
- Thinking Skills:
Through various question types a student’s critical thinking,m analysing and problem-solving skills are tested. No prior knowledge is required for this test section, as the questions are based on very generic academic and cognitive skills. The various types of questions found in this section are:
- Identifying similarity
- Finding procedures
- Evaluating evidence
- Evaluating reasoning
- Identifying mistakes, and
- Logical analysis
- Writing:
The last test section tests the student’s writing skills along with other related skills like- grammar, punctuation, spelling, vocabulary, style, ideation, creative thinking, imagination and others. The student has to provide an original written response to the given stimulus in the question, wherein they might have to narrate, describe, persuade, argue, provide information, explain, or even create an imagery with words.
Their content, form, organisation, sentence structure, and creative manipulation all are duly evaluated.
How to Ace the Selective Exams in NSW?
- Get familiar with test format & structure
- Learn to read carefully
- Develop command over English
- Master the Mathematical concepts
- Solve practice papers, previous year papers, sample questions
- Seek for guidance from exam-preparation experts like Selectivetrial
- Do effective Time Management
- Show your Working in the Mathematics paper
- Check your answer before final submission
- Don’t Panic, trust your preparation and hard work
Preparing for the NSW Selective High School Placement Test can be an overwhelming as well as rewarding journey for both the parents and students. Provide your child the right kind of guidance and support with Selectivetrial, for more information visit us at https://selectivetrial.com.au/
