Selective Entry Schools

Selective entry high schools are for high-achieving students in years 9 to 12

Selective entry high schools are for high-achieving students in years 9 to 12.

These schools accept students through a competitive entrance exam. Some enrolments are also made based on equity consideration or at the discretion of the school principal.

Students must be in their second year of secondary school to apply to sit the entrance exam. This is usually year 8.

There are four selective entry high schools in Victoria:

Melbourne High School (boys only) in South Yarra.
The Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School (girls only) in Melbourne.
Nossal High School (boys and girls) in Berwick.
Suzanne Cory High School (boys and girls) in Werribee.

Melbourne Tutorials stands out as a prestigious provider of Selective Entry Exam preparation, boasting a team of experts well-versed in all exam components, who have consistently steered numerous students towards success year after year.

Our program offers a proven pathway to Selective Entry triumph for those who fully commit themselves to its principles. Students gradually acclimate to the program’s rigorous intensity, pushing past their comfort zones for optimal growth.

It’s important to understand that for Selective Entry students, the concept of “homework” loses relevance given the extensive nature of studies, plethora of resources available, and the individualized attention required within time constraints. Students must exhibit high initiative, maintain regular study habits, and continually assess their own needs. Additionally, certain aspects of the curriculum will be self-paced to cater to individual strengths and areas for improvement. At this advanced level, teachers play a crucial role in setting clear objectives, offering expert guidance, and providing unwavering support.

We are committed to staying abreast of current exam trends and patterns, continuously refining our resources to ensure our students have the best possible advantage. With complimentary access to our expansive online portal featuring a vast repository of questions and tests, our students benefit greatly from unparalleled resources designed to propel them towards success.

Selective Entry Selection Process:

A centralised selection process is used whereby every candidate must sit the entry exam. While each school fills 85% of its Year 9 enrolment based on a candidate’s performance in the exam, there are a range of variables that may affect final offers each year. These include:

Variable entry score from year to year depending on the demand for places at the school and the scores achieved by those candidates who have listed the school as their first preference.
Only a maximum of 4% of students in Year 8 from any one secondary school can be accepted into a selective entry high school, with a maximum of 10% of students from p-9 schools. Candidates currently enrolled in an home, interstate or overseas schools are treated as discrete school cohorts, with a cap on the placements on offer.
Up to 10% of enrolments are filled through the equity consideration category.
Up to 5% of the enrolment will be filled through the principal’s discretion category.
Offers at the co-educational selective entry high schools may also be subject to the use of a special measure to ensure the two co-educational selective entry high schools maintain a gender balance.

The above system is illustrated in the table below:

School Name	Year 8 Student Enrollment	Standard Offers	Equity Offers	Principal’s Discretion Offers	Total Offers
ABC High School	100	4	1	N/A	5
P-9 School	50	4	1	1	6

Exam Structure:

The SEHS entrance exam is a written assessment, designed to test ability rather than achievement and will include a focus on higher order thinking skills.

The required knowledge in any section will not exceed that found in the Year 8 curriculum.

The SEHS entrance exam will include:

Reasoning in Reading, Mathematics

General Ability – Verbal, Quantitative and Writing

It will contain multiple choice questions and written tasks.

Reasoning tasks in Reading and Mathematics assess a student’s ability to use their life and academic knowledge and skills and apply them to problems and tasks using the information provided in the task.

General ability tasks assess a student’s ability to learn in each of the tested areas by allowing the student to demonstrate their higher order thinking and problem-solving skills.

The test is not just about sound conceptual framework and accuracy but also about time management as students have to do about 50 to 60 multiple-choice questions in 30 minutes.