A different paper from the Year 7 and 8 pathway, sat in Year 8 or 9, and a much shorter school list. In New South Wales this is where most of the opportunity sits — here is how it works.
The Middle Secondary paper — a different level from the Junior paper used for Year 7 and Year 8 entry. ACER sets the level by the year your child is currently in when they sit, not the year they are applying for.
| Year level when sitting | HAST level | Entry into |
|---|---|---|
| Year 4 or 5 | HAST Primary (HAST-P) | Years 5 and 6 |
| Year 6 or 7 | Junior Secondary | Years 7 and 8 |
| Year 8 or 9 | Middle Secondary | Years 9 and 10 |
| Year 10 | Senior Secondary | Year 11 |
Do not practise on the Junior paper. This is the most common and most costly mistake at this level. The Middle Secondary paper is pitched at an older cohort, and material written for Year 7 entry will leave your child under-prepared. Make sure any practice set you buy says Middle Secondary or Year 9/10 on it.
The same four components as every secondary HAST level, pitched harder. Three are multiple-choice and machine-scored; the fourth is handwritten and marked by people.
Denser passages than the Junior paper, with questions on inference, tone, argument and the writer’s purpose rather than locating a stated fact.
Multi-step problems, data interpretation and scientific reasoning. The scientific reasoning load is heavier here than at Junior level.
Pattern, sequence and matrix puzzles using shapes. Still nothing in the school curriculum resembles it, so it stays the section with the steepest gains from practice.
A single writing task from a stimulus, marked by trained markers. At this level markers expect a clear position and genuine development, not just clean sentences.
Not every school sits all four. Confirm which components apply before building a study plan around them, and check ACER’s Candidate Information Bulletin for the exact structure of your child’s sitting.
For Year 7 entry, NSW government selective schools do not use HAST at all — that is the centrally run NSW Selective High School Placement Test. From Year 8 onwards, including Years 9 and 10, the system is completely different and HAST is one of the two main tests in use.
Years 8 to 12 entry is decentralised. The NSW Department of Education states that each selective school manages its own vacancies, assessments and placement decisions. There is no central test and no central application — you apply school by school, and each one chooses its own test. The two that dominate are ACER HAST and Edutest.
Each names HAST or ACER on its own enrolment pages. Their Years 8–11 intake covers Year 9 and Year 10 entry, with many sharing a common sitting date in August.
Equally competitive schools, different test. Preparing only for HAST will not prepare your child for these, and a family applying across both groups may need to sit both papers.
These schools are listed by ACER at the Middle Secondary level — the Year 9/10 paper — and run their own Years 8 or 9 entry, but their own websites do not name the test. Contact the school directly before you prepare.
Year 9 is often the largest of the out-of-sequence intakes. Normanhurst Boys, for instance, publishes that it usually has ten to fifteen places for Year 9 and Year 11, against fewer than five in Years 8 and 10. If you are weighing which year to target, Year 9 is frequently the better odds — though Normanhurst does not name its test provider, so confirm before preparing.
Year 12 entry is effectively closed. Most selective schools state plainly that they do not admit new students in Year 12, so Years 9 and 10 are realistically the last comfortable entry points before the Year 11 round.
Fifty-nine schools outside New South Wales sit on the HAST participating register. Sixteen of them are listed at middle secondary level — the Year 9/10 paper — and those are tagged below. The rest appear only at primary, junior or senior secondary level, which means their HAST intake sits at a different year. Read the list for what it is: being on the register tells you a school uses HAST, not that it runs a public Year 9 or Year 10 entrance round. Entry points, programs and test providers change year to year, so confirm directly with any school on your shortlist.
The largest group outside NSW, and the only state where several schools are explicit about a Year 9 intake. 8 listed at middle secondary.
Two schools run Programs of Excellence spanning Years 7 to 10; the rest test at Year 7 entry only. 2 listed at middle secondary.
Programs vary widely. The three Ignite Program schools select at Year 8 entry, not later. 3 listed at middle secondary.
All independent, and separate from the state GATE process, which runs its own test. 2 listed at middle secondary.
One school outside Australia sits on the same register. 1 listed at middle secondary.
Keilor Downs College is the clearest example. It is the one school outside NSW that names the paper exactly on its own site — ACER HAST Test 4 (Middle Secondary) for Year 9 entry, with its own sitting separate from the Year 7 round. If you are in Melbourne’s west and your child is in Year 8, start there.
Two questions worth asking every school you ring. First: do you offer entry at Year 9 or Year 10, or is your intake at Year 7 only? Many schools on this list run their main intake at Year 7 and keep later places for students already enrolled. Second: which test do you use this year? Some schools use the ACER Scholarship Test or Edutest rather than HAST, and at least one has changed provider recently.
Source: our own complete list of HAST participating schools. NSW schools are covered in the section above.
Machine-scored, and reported against a high-ability reference group rather than the general population. At Middle Secondary that reference group is already a selected cohort, so a mid-range result is not a poor one.
Judged on whether the response is appropriate to the theme it was given, structure and creativity, and grammar, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary.
Your child’s school reports matter more at this level. Most Years 8–11 applications ask for recent reports alongside the test result, and some schools weigh them heavily. A strong HAST result on the back of a weak Year 8 report is a harder case to make than the same result at Year 7.
Your child is in Year 8 or 9, with real assessment deadlines of their own. The plan has to fit around school, not compete with it.
Before any study, and on the correct level. A Junior paper will flatter the result and send you after the wrong weaknesses.
Still the section with no classroom equivalent and the steepest early gains. Twenty focused minutes three times a week beats a long weekend session.
Reviewed against the marking criteria. At this level markers expect a position that is actually developed, so spend two minutes planning the argument before writing.
Same start time, no pausing the clock, and move the last two or three onto paper to match the real sitting.
Reports form part of most Years 8–11 applications, so preparation that costs your child their Year 8 or 9 grades is self-defeating. Taper in the final fortnight.
A reasoning test cannot be crammed, so our material is built around the two things that actually move a score: repeated exposure to the question styles, and honest feedback on where the marks are being lost.
Papers pitched at the Middle Secondary paper your child will actually sit — not the Junior set used for Year 7 and 8 entry.
Reading Comprehension, Mathematical and Scientific Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning and Written Expression, with the heavier scientific reasoning load this level carries.
Every set is built to be sat under the clock, because pacing is what separates students who know the material from students who finish the paper.
Discursive writing from a verbal stimulus and creative or narrative writing from a visual one, styled on the ACER format.
An actual marked response with highlighted passages and comments in the margin, returned within three to four working days.
Sectional results across several attempts show a trend rather than a single number, so study time goes where it will move the score most.
Applying to both HAST and Edutest schools? Our HAST + EduTest combo plans are built for exactly that situation — NSW students in Years 8 to 10 preparing for both tests in the same year.
Written for the Middle Secondary level, covering all four sections under real exam timing.
Whatever stage you are at — checking which test your child needs, sampling a paper, or working through full timed practice — the right starting point is here.
The Middle Secondary paper, sat in Year 8 or Year 9. It is a different level from the Junior paper used for Year 7 and Year 8 entry, so make sure any practice material says Middle Secondary or Year 9/10.
Many do. NSW Year 7 entry uses the central Placement Test, but from Year 8 onwards each school runs its own assessment. Ten selective schools name HAST on their own sites for Years 8 to 11 entry, which covers Years 9 and 10. Others use Edutest.
Often there are more places. Some schools publish that Years 9 and 11 carry ten to fifteen vacancies against fewer than five in Years 8 and 10. It varies by school and year, so ask each school what it expects before choosing which year to target.
Rarely. Keilor Downs College in Victoria runs a Year 9 SEAL intake using the Middle Secondary paper. Woodville High School in South Australia uses HAST to place students already enrolled. Most other states build their HAST entry around Year 7 and Year 11.
HAST sittings are paper-based. Online practice builds reasoning skills and timing efficiently, but complete some later papers on paper so the physical format is familiar.
Yes, more than at Year 7. Most Years 8 to 11 applications ask for recent school reports alongside the test result, and some schools weigh them heavily, so preparation should not come at the cost of school marks.
There is no national date. Each school nominates its own sitting with ACER, though many NSW selective schools share a common date in August for entry the following year.
That uses the Senior Secondary paper, sat in Year 10, and is a separate round with its own school list. Fort Street High School, for example, uses HAST only for Year 11.
Repeatedly, under time, and on the right level of paper. That is what turns a nervous first sitting into a familiar one.
