Selective schools in Melbourne, step by step.

Victoria has four government selective entry high schools, often shortened to SEHS. Each year, Year 8 students across the state sit one exam in June to compete for a place starting in Year 9. If your child is in Year 6 or 7 and you're wondering whether to aim for it, this guide covers how the whole thing works, using the official sources.

The four schools

All four take students from Year 9 to Year 12. Across the four, there are about 1,000 Year 9 places each year.^[1] A small number of places sometimes open up in Years 10 and 11, and those are handled by each school directly.^[1]

Who can apply

The Victorian Government lists these rules.^[1] Your child must:

• be in Year 8 (their second year of secondary school) when they sit the exam
• not have sat the Year 9 selective entry exam before
• be an Australian citizen, a New Zealand citizen living in Australia, or hold a visa that exempts them from international student fees

Students from government schools, Catholic and independent schools, and registered home-schoolers can all apply. Fee-paying international students can't.^[1]

That "only once" rule matters. Your child gets one shot at Year 9 entry, so it's worth going in prepared.

The exam

The exam is run by ACER, the Australian Council for Educational Research, on behalf of the Department of Education.^[1] It's held in June. The most recent one was on 20 June 2026, for students starting Year 9 in 2027.^[1]

Here's how the day runs, according to ACER.^[2]

That's 2 hours and 35 minutes of exam time. With registration and breaks, the whole session takes about four hours.^[2][3] Multiple-choice answers are shaded on a paper answer sheet that's read by a scanner.^[2]

What each part tests

• Mathematics: school maths, applied to real-world problems.^[2]
• Quantitative reasoning: numbers, patterns and shapes. Think number series, grids, and puzzles where you have to spot the rule.^[2]
• Reading: finding, interpreting and judging information in texts.^[2]
• Verbal reasoning: words, concepts and logic. Analogies, codes, odd one out and deduction.^[2]
• Writing: getting ideas across clearly and in an organised way, across two tasks.^[2]

Three facts that change how you prepare

1. Nothing goes beyond Year 8. ACER says the required knowledge in any section "will not exceed that found in the Year 8 curriculum".^[2] The exam is hard because of the reasoning, not because it tests advanced content.
2. No calculators. They aren't allowed in the venue.^[3] Mental arithmetic and written working need to be quick and reliable.
3. Most kids don't finish. In ACER's words, "it is not unusual for candidates to only answer half the questions correctly and many do not finish."^[2] Pacing is a skill in its own right.

How offers are made

Places are offered in three ways.^[1]

One more rule: no more than 4% of students from any one school can receive a standard merit or principal discretion offer (10% for schools that run from Prep to Year 9). Equity offers aren't capped.^[1]

The key takeaway is that school reports only count in the principal discretion category. For 85% of places, the exam is everything.

Applying

Applications are made online through ACER's portal before the exam. You'll need your child's Victorian Student Number if they have one. The application fee is waived for families with a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card and for First Nations families, and other families facing hardship can ask for a reduction.^[1] Dates change each year, so check ACER's site early in your child's Year 8.

Students with disability or other access needs can apply for special arrangements on the day.^[1]

How to prepare, honestly

ACER says "there is no need for your child to practice or revise for the exam", and recommends getting familiar with the question style using its free sample questions.^[2] It also notes those samples "are not necessarily reflective of the difficulty of the exam".^[2]

Here's our view. Your child doesn't need years of drilling. But the reasoning sections look nothing like school maths or English, so walking in cold is a real disadvantage. And the one-attempt rule means there's no second go. Sensible preparation sits in between:

• Start with a baseline. Sit a full practice exam in the real format and timing, then look at each area separately. A combined score can hide that your child is strong at school maths but weak on number patterns.
• Learn each question type once, properly. Number series, analogies, codes, logic puzzles. Each has a method. Once a child knows the method, practice actually sticks.
• Build speed after accuracy. Untimed first, then gentle timing, then full timed sections in the last few months.
• Practise writing two pieces in 40 minutes. That's about 20 minutes each, which is half the time NAPLAN gives for one. Planning has to shrink to two or three minutes. Our NAPLAN writing guide covers what makes writing score well, and most of it carries straight over.
• Keep reading. Wide reading, including harder non-fiction, feeds both the reading and verbal reasoning sections.
• Look after the basics. ACER's own advice for the day is good sleep, low pressure and realistic expectations.^[2] We'd add: if your child finishes a practice exam with questions left over, that's normal.

A realistic timeline

Wondering about SEAL programs, which start in Year 7? Our SEAL vs selective entry guide compares the two.

Starting later? That's fine. A focused six months is plenty for many kids. Just begin with the baseline so time goes where it's needed.

One thing to be careful of. Practice scores, from us or anyone else, can't predict an offer. Offers depend on how every other candidate does in that year's exam. Any service promising otherwise is guessing.

Common questions

What are the selective schools in Melbourne?

Melbourne High School, The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, Nossal High School and Suzanne Cory High School.

When is the Victorian selective entry exam?

In June, while students are in Year 8, for entry to Year 9 the following year.

How many times can my child sit the selective entry exam?

Once. Students can't sit the Year 9 selective entry exam if they've sat it before.

Can you use a calculator in the selective entry exam?

No. Calculators aren't allowed in the exam venue.