NSW selective high schools list: how to read it

Choosing schools is one of the few real decisions in the Selective process, because you list one to three of them in order of preference. The list below the page text shows the Department's 2027-entry schools and places. The Department has not yet published the 2028-entry list, and schools and place numbers can change, so check its page when applications open. This page explains how to read it.

The four types

Fully selective high schools

Every Year 7 place is offered through the placement test. The Department counts 17.

Partially selective high schools

Only some places are selective, and the rest are filled locally. The Department counts 27, including Sydney Secondary College Blackwattle Bay, which takes Years 11 to 12 only. Check the Department's list for a school you are considering.

Agricultural high schools

There are four. They emphasise agriculture and three of the four offer boarding, so they can suit families who live a long way from a selective school.

Aurora College

This is online selective classes (English, mathematics and science) for rural and remote students. A student must attend, or intend to enrol in, a rural or remote NSW public high school that is an authorised Aurora College host school (not a partially selective school). It has 90 places, 45 for boys and 45 for girls.

For 2027 entry, the Department lists 4,338 Year 7 places across these schools.

Boys' and girls' places

From the 2027 intake, the Department sets equal numbers of boys' and girls' places at coeducational selective schools. In the list, you will see a total and a split into boys and girls. If places for one gender are not filled, they go to the other. The NSW Government introduced the change to address a decline in girls applying for and accepting places. The mix in selective high schools had reached about 58% boys.

Single-sex schools

Some selective schools are for boys only or for girls only. For those, all the places go to students of that gender. You will see this in the places columns and notes. Single-sex schools are listed as a choice like any other, though your child must be eligible to attend.

Boarding

Some agricultural high schools have boarding places as well as day places. Where the Department gives numbers, our list's notes show them. Boarding works differently by school. For Farrer Memorial and Yanco you apply directly to the school and do not have to sit the placement test. For Hurlstone you apply through the general application and must sit the test. Boarders are selected on academic reports and an interview, and the school sets the fees, so speak to the school.

Choosing one to three schools

The application lets you pick between one and three selective schools. Some things to consider:

• Put your most preferred school first. The Department gives an offer from the highest preference your child qualifies for.
• You do not have to use all three. A short list you would be happy with is a good list.
• Think about travel. A long daily trip is a cost every day for years.
• Do not choose based on what you hear about a school's "cut-off". The Department does not publish cut-offs.

A student receives an offer from only one school, but may sit on reserve lists for schools higher on their list. How placement works explains the process.

You can change your choices

The Department allows changes to school choices until a set date. For the 2027-entry cycle that date was 5 June 2026. After that date you can change them only in exceptional circumstances, with evidence (the Department's example is a family moving a significant distance within NSW), so use the time after the test to be sure.

A note on rankings

We do not rank schools, and we do not publish estimates of how hard each is to enter. A school's reputation is not the same as how well it suits your child. The Department says there are no set minimum entry scores, because outcomes depend on applicants and available places each year.

Where the list comes from

The list is from the Department's selective high school pages, reformatted by ExamExplained, with the Department's attribution shown beneath it. We are not affiliated with the Department. Always check the official list before you apply.

Source: NSW Department of Education, checked 7 October 2026. The list is from the Department's selective high school pages, reformatted by ExamExplained, and ExamExplained is not affiliated with the Department. Next, read how to apply.

Department of Education wording on this page is quoted or adapted briefly under CC BY 4.0. © State of New South Wales (Department of Education), 2023. Licence: CC BY 4.0. ExamExplained has changed and summarised the text and is not endorsed by the Department.