10 Jul
---
The 2018 selective test results are excellent. What's more important is that they show how students who were doing OC prep on Mathemafix did so well later in selective test. Most of these students improved further in their selective test than in their OC test.
Selective test 2018 results.
21 Jun
---
Selective school test result will be out on 6 July 2018. It looks like they now making things more predictable. But they budget 1 week in case the result is late. At this moment, they already have most of it. So if parents have a private school offer, and has not paid up, they can request an early release of the result.
https://education.nsw.gov.au/public-schools/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes/year-7/outcome
14 May
---
Scholarship offers: 18
Congrats to Ash for a scholarship offer from St Hilda, Perth, WA
23 April
---
The SSU has released the entry scores for 2017 selective test (to start year 7 in 2018). The dead for changing choices is 27th April so parents need to hurry up if they want to change the choices.
https://data.cese.nsw.gov.au/data/dataset/selective-high-schools-minimum-entry-scores
12 April
---
Scholarship offers: 17
Congrats to Bluebird1 on the top academic scholarship at Pacific Hills Christian School. This takes the total to 17 scholarships so far with 9 of them as 100% scholarships.
03 April
---
Scholarship offers: 16
Congrats to Elvira on an academic scholarship at Santa Sabina. This takes the total to 16 scholarships so far with 9 of them as 100% scholarships. The investment of time parents made and the extra writing investment during middle of 2017 and term 1 of 2018 really extends the number of offers over last year's already great performance.
29 Mar
---
Scholarship offers: 15
Congrats to Cluckey1 on a full scholarship at Knox Grammar. This takes the total to 15 scholarships so far.
27 Mar
---
Scholarship offers: 14
Congrats to ty070119 on getting a full music scholarship from PLC Sydney. This is the kid's 3rd full scholarship!
26 Mar
---
Scholarship offers: 13
Congrats Nimra has two scholarships offer from Mentone Girls grammar and Mentone Grammar in Melbourne. Mathemafix is reaching out to other states. Kids are also using Mathemafix to prepare for the GATE selective program in WA and the SEAL program in Victoria.
Congrats to Ninja3 on a scholarship offer at Georges River Grammar.
Congrats to Nima on a full scholarship offer from Shellharbour Anglican College.
21 Mar
---
Scholarship offers: 9
Congrats to FreeGlider1 on a full scholarship from The King's College.
Congrats to ty070119 on getting a full scholarship from Meriden. It's fantastic to achieve 2 full scholarships. This is a great effort.
Congrats to Pikachu2 on a full scholarship from Knox Grammar.
18 Mar
---
The Scholarship Paper Trial gives an alternative view to predict the performance in the selective test. It's only 1 test so it's not accurate like the average of selective trials. However, students seem to confirm that the GA part is closer to the selective GA. The English part is also harder and probably close to the difficulty of selective English.
16 Mar
---
Many students have done the survey for 2018 selective test. It looks like the test is easy and similar to the one in 2017. The students this year have worked harder and most try to do the hardest stuff on Mathemafix. So, it is expected that they feel confident in this selective test.
A new feedback module has been created to allow students to compare questions that they failed on Mathemafix to what they saw in the selective test and identify similar questions. The feedback from the students will be very valuable as it gives insight into what is happening at ACER when they select the questions. It looks like the new Australian maths curriculum has kicked in. Students are given a fair number of hard questions related to maths problem solving at year 7 and 8. Students on Mathemafix have been given these questions for many years and this is why the top ones have been scoring near 95% on the selective maths tests.
The year 5 will have the benefit of seeing questions similar to what seen in the real 2018 selective test flashed before them so they can pay more attention to these questions.
Some students who did a lot of work also confirm that the reading skills for year 7 and 8 are relevant to the skills required to handle the English test. And more interestingly, the non-verbal reasoning is important for the GA test. The GA strategy is working well for students doing scholarship and selective tests. This is why students who have done enough of all test series give very good ratings in the survey.
15 Mar
---
Scholarship offers: 6
Congrats to MarMar1 who got a scholarship offer from Queenwood School for Girls.
Congrats to CharmeleonRPS on a full scholarship from Sydney Grammar. Two years ago, we got a full scholarship offer from Sydney Grammar. This is one of the few hardest scholarships to get in Sydney.
With a lot of schools yet to do interviews and make offers, we have still a along way to go until end of Mar or 1st week of April. Hopefully, the year 6 students will exceed the 9 scholarships last year.
Best of luck to all year 6 students who do the NSW selective school test today! After the test, students and parents should celebrate hard. And in the evening, please take a moment to fill out the survey form for 2018 selective test when the knowledge is still fresh in the mind.
14 Mar
---
We are now finally on the eve of the 2018 selective test. Students should have been rested for a few days for this big event.
This is the ranking against 2017 students for all 8 trials.
And this is the ranking against 2017 students for the last 3 trials.
13 Mar
---
We are getting so close to the selective test. Students should now rest and relax for the selective test. This is the key to a reliable performance on the day.
This is a flash back to the survey on the 2017 selective test. Students provide a fairly positive picture on their preparation at Mathemafix for this selective test.
09 Mar
---
Scholarship offers: 4
Congrats to ty070119 on getting a full scholarship from Santa Sabina on spot. The principal could not look past a student who applied for music scholarship but also performed extremely well on the scholarship test.
Congrats to Elvira on getting an interview offer from Santa Sabina for an academic scholarship.
07 Mar
---
Congrats to CharmeleonRPS on getting an interview offer from Sydney Grammar.
06 Mar
---
The scholarship and Sydney Grammar invitation report from RyanJiang was a not-so-funny joke. The scholarship count is back to 3.
05 Mar
---
Scholarship offers: 3
Congrats to Staycurious with an interview offer from Mentone Grammar School, Melbourne. Last year there was a selective school placement in Perth. We are slowly reaching out to other states.
02 Mar
---
- Congrats to FreeGlider1 on a scholarship from The Scots College. This is our 1st win for 2018.
- Congrats to CharmeleonRPS on a full scholarship offer from The Scots College. This is a job well done, both in sitting the test and handling the interview.
- Congrats to Cluckey1 on a scholarship from The Scots College.
01 Mar
---
The Scots Colleges has interviewed our three shortlisted candidates CharmeleonRPS, Cluckey1 and FreeGlider1. The results should come out shortly.
- Congrats to Cluckey1 getting short listed for King's
- Congrats to Cluckey1 getting short listed for Sydney Grammar pre-interview activities
- Congrats to FreeGlider1 getting short listed for Sydney Grammar pre-interview activities
- Congrats to MarMar1 getting short listed for Queenwood
Scholarship interview offers are rolling in from Academic Services and EDU tests. The ACER Co-op test will take another 3-4 weeks for results to come back.
21 Feb
---
We are now entering the most critical of the selective test and scholarship test preparation. It's now important to worry about the health and well-being of the students. For most students, the work is done. They just finish the last 2 trials and rest. However, for some, they still have work to do. It's important to slow down and relax as well. A few days off from school will help to work at a more relaxed pace. Most of the work now should be on revision of failed questions and honing exam skills (mainly timing).
We are entering the centre of scholarship season where so many are on offer. Unfortunately, the ACER co-op test is a bit of a cheat when they say you can apply to as many schools as you like but only the 1st choice school would likely look at the application. This is why students should only apply to one school offering this test. The good news is that more schools are now using Academic Assessment Services instead. This allows one to apply to several schools.
Knox Grammar
|
Boys
|
Wahroonga
|
Fri 23 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
28
|
Arden Anglican School Secondary
|
Co-ed
|
Epping
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
116
|
Sydney Church of England
Grammar School (SHORE)
|
Boys
|
North Sydney
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
26
|
St Joseph’s College
|
Boys
|
Hunters Hill
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
90
|
International Grammar School
|
Co-ed
|
Ultimo
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
96
|
Penrith Anglican College Secondary (IB)
|
Co-ed
|
Orchard Hills
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
96
|
Oxford Falls Grammar School
|
Co-ed
|
Oxford Falls
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
107
|
Pittwater House
|
Co-ed
|
Collaroy
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
110
|
Northholm Grammar School
|
Co-ed
|
Fiddletown
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
130
|
Thomas Hassall Anglican College
|
Co-ed
|
Middleton Grange
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
137
|
St Andrew’s Cathedral School (IB)
|
Co-ed
|
Sydney
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
139
|
Georges River Grammar
|
Co-ed
|
Georges Hall
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
140
|
SCECGS Redlands (IB)
|
Co-ed
|
Cremorne
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
153
|
Rosebank College
|
Co-ed
|
Five Dock
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
179
|
St Paul's Grammar School (IB)
|
Co-ed
|
Cranebrook
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
273
|
All Saints Grammar
|
Co-ed
|
Belmore
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
278
|
ShellHarbour Anglican College
|
Co-ed
|
Dunmore
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
290
|
Wollondilly Anglican College
|
Co-ed
|
Bargo
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
304
|
Rouse Hill Anglican College
|
Co-ed
|
Rouse Hill
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
313
|
SCEGGS
|
Girls
|
Darlinghurst
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
12
|
Presbyterian Ladies' College
|
Girls
|
Croydon
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
36
|
Ravenswood School (IB)
|
Girls
|
Gordon
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
39
|
Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy (IB)
|
Girls
|
North Sydney
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
74
|
St Vincent’s College
|
Girls
|
Potts Point
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
81
|
Wenona School
|
Girls
|
North Sydney
|
Fri 2 Mar
|
Academic Services
|
15
|
TARA Anglican School for Girls
(IB)
|
Girls
|
North Parramatta
|
Fri 2 Mar
|
Academic Services
|
43
|
Cranbrook School (IB)
|
Boys
|
Bellevue Hill
|
Sat 3 Mar
|
Academic Services
|
56
|
The Hills Grammar (IB)
|
Co-ed
|
Kenthurst
|
Sat 3 Mar
|
Academic Services
|
73
|
Kambala School (IB)
|
Girls
|
Rose Bay
|
Sat 3 Mar
|
Academic Services
|
56
|
Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta Secondary
|
Girls
|
Parramatta
|
Sat 3 Mar
|
Academic Services
|
100
|
Pacific Hills Christian School
|
Co-ed
|
Dural
|
Sat 3 Mar
|
ACER alternative
|
131
|
St George Christian School
|
Co-ed
|
Hurstville
|
Fri 9 Mar
|
ACER alternative
|
169
|
St Catherine’s School
|
Girls
|
Waverley
|
Sat 10 Mar
|
Academic Services
|
46
|
The Illawarra Grammar School (IB)
|
Co-ed
|
Mangerton
|
Thur 29 Mar
|
Academic Services
|
245
|
Soon, we will start to get results from scholarship interviews and new offers for interview coming in. The Scots College has finished their interviews and we will know if any of our 3 candidates get a scholarship. Several other schools with tests dates 10th Feb-18th Feb will offer interviews soon. It will be an exciting period to see the results of all the hard work.
16 Feb
---
At this late stage, the following is all that matters
Selective trials
---
Selective Mathematics Trial Test (8 tests)
Selective English Trial Test (8 tests)
Selective General Ability Trial Test (8 tests)
Selective boosters
---
Mini Selective Mathematics Booster (20 tests)
Mini Selective English Booster (18 tests)
Mini Selective General Ability Booster (18 tests)
OC Revision Work (10 tests) - extremely hard questions from OC level suitable as selective boosters
SS Revision Work (10 tests) - the hardest questions from selective level - ultimate revision for top performers
Other work if time allows
---
English Comprehension Grade 7 (22 tests)
English Deep Comprehension Exercise (20 tests)
Mathematics Grade 6 (11 tests)
Mini Math Challenge Grade 6-7 (44 tests)
Mini Math Problem Solving Grade 6-7 (50 tests)
Mini non-verbal/visual reasoning Grade 6-7 (18 tests)
English Verbal Reasoning Grade 6-7 (10 tests)
14 Feb
---
At this stage, some top students have completed a large amount of work at selective test level and done some scholarship tests. So, the selective preparation is drawing to a close. There are only 2 more selective trials to complete. After this, it is possible to predict the selective profile based on the 8 trials and past students' performance.
For these strong students have nearly complete the whole program, the most important thing is to take it easy and slow down. It's important to rest and take it easy to make sure they are healthy and fresh for scholarship tests and they should rest completely 1 week before the selective test. The time is now best used for revising the failed questions from the hard series. Super Revision module is now the most effective tool for this purpose.
For other students who are still behind, it's important to focus on the hardest work and the trials. The main thing is to get enough work done but not too much as it's time to slow down and rest as well.
---
Year 6 students should complete the OC Revision series of 10 tests. These tests are probably more challenging than some of the selective trials! This table shows the ranking and past selective profiles. Some of the past students wentthrough the OC program before. They failed these questions but they had a chance to review them. So their scores would be high if they can remember them well. Those who did not go through the OC program here really struggled to score over 70%. So this series is especially recommended to those who did not do the OC program here (or doing the OC revision during Jan-Mar).
06 Feb
---
Many students have done 5-6 selective trials. Now they enter the last 2 that are harder and the time is at 40 minutes per test. This is the point where one can see if s/he is reaching a higher level of performance or not.
The following table compare this year students with last year's students over trials 1-6. The last 2 have been taken out.
It is important for parents to be aware that the selective test last year was a little easier than normal so the profiles were higher than normal (about 5-7 points). Therefore the cutoff profiles at the selective school also rose sharply last year.
---
We are only around 4-5 weeks away from the earliest scholarship tests of the main scholarship season for 2018 (to start year 7 in 2019).
School name
|
Type
|
Location
|
Date
|
Test type
|
Ranking
|
Trinity Grammar (IB)
|
Boys
|
Summer Hill
|
Sat 10 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
106
|
Ascham School
|
Girls
|
Edgecliff
|
Sat 10 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
18
|
Santa Sabina College (IB)
|
Girls
|
Strathfield
|
Sat 10 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
47
|
Brigidine College St Ives
|
Girls
|
St Ives
|
Sat 10 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
50
|
Sydney Grammar
|
Boys
|
Darlinghurst
|
Sun 11 Feb
|
unknown
|
6
|
Newington (IB)
|
Boys
|
Stanmore
|
Mon 12 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
89
|
Emanuel School
|
Co-ed
|
Randwick
|
Thur 15 Feb
|
ACER alternative
|
38
|
Queenwood School for Girls (IB)
|
Girls
|
Mosman
|
Fri 16 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
19
|
St Luke’s Grammar School
|
Co-ed
|
Dee Why
|
Sat 17 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
58
|
Meriden School
|
Girls
|
Strathfield
|
Sat 17 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
22
|
MLC School (IB)
|
Girls
|
Burwood
|
Sat 17 Feb
|
ACER alternative
|
68
|
The King’s School
|
Boys
|
North Parramatta
|
Sun 18 Feb
|
Edu Test
|
30
|
The applications to the above schools should close around 2 weeks before the test date. Parents should put applications in ASAP. A good thing to notice is that all of these scholarships are unrelated. The only thing that stops students from taking many tests is when the dates clash.
For those students who intend to win a scholarship, it is expect that they work hard and finish at least 6 selective trials along side with many tests at year 6-7 level as indicated in the Selective Minimum Work Plan 2018.
12 Jan
---
This is a snapshot of how the current year students who have done 3 sets of selective trials compared to last year students' trials and selective profiles.
24 Dec
---
Kids should be given a fun-filled week to settle them down for the next leg of selective test preparation.
From 1st Jan-mid Feb, students work hard to prepare for scholarship tests and the selective test. The ones who are on the right pace will have a very easy time as they should by now stop all tutoring/trials at coaching colleges. Some even never had any tutoring class to start with. Those who are behind will have to work hard. Most kids around this time of the year will concentrate on doing enough work on Mathemafix to have enough experience going into these difficult tests.
The 2017 survey for selective tests confirm that we are on the right track with the kind of work and the difficulty of the work.
23 Dec
---
A fair number of students have done 3 trials. This table ranks students who have done 3 trials with last year students to give some idea where they are. As students proceed to trial #8, the average trial scores tend to fall as the time is stricter and the tests become a bit harder. This means they must work hard between trials to support the trial averages.
18 Dec
---
Students who have just joined at this late stage should do the following
1/ Quickly do some tests among the series marked with arrows so the online tutor can see performance and advise what to do
2/ Go to "Customise available series" at the bottom of Welcome page and follow that link. Then copy the table "Recommended work ..." Paste this into Word and reformat it to make a work tracking plan. Follow this tracking plan to make sure up to 30 tests get done per week during the holiday time.
3/ Go to page QUICK LINKS and print the document Selective Minimum Work plan 2018 to use as the guide to make sure the minimum amount of important tests are done. One must try to catch up to make sure the selective trials and boosters get done and 8 sets completed by end of Feb 2018.
15 Dec
---
HSC 2017 ranking by all rounders. We keep our own data to allow more efficient searching to identify the most consistent schools. There are many schools rising in ranking due to movement of population. Private schools are getting increasingly better perhaps because their rising number of students from Asian backgrounds.
http://mathemafix.com/hsc_all_rounders.html
14 Dec
---
Good problem solving skills requires good reading skills too. And this is why students who do well in ICAS Science competition tend to do well in the selective test. The scores from the following series tell a lot about the overall ability of students.
Mini Science and General Problem Solving Grade 4
Mini Science and General Problem Solving Grade 5-6
While science is not part of the selective test, these tests need the general observation skills and thinking skills. Students who are ahead of selective prep pace and have not completed these tests should now do them. The failed questions should be reviewed carefully.
07 Dec
---
The TSC scholarship results are out. Three boys were short-listed for interviews. The performance looks fantastic. This again confirms the writing strategies that have taken the kids to band 9 where it is possible to secure interviews.
 interview |
 interview |
 interview |  no interview |
no interview
|  no interview |
 no interview |  no interview |
 no interview |
05 Dec
---
Pymble LC scholarship results are coming back. They look pretty solid even though there is no offer of interview. Writing is the area where kids are most vulnerable. It looks like the writing class helped the kids a lot as the lowest is touching band 8 while one student improved from end of band 5 (in Mar scholarship test) to middle of band 8 in this Oct scholarship test.
 |
 |
 |  |
01 Dec
---
There are students who are still struggle to score well at year 5/OC level. At end of Dec, they must move on and work with the Selectuve Minimum Work Plan 2018. They still have to do the 8 selective trials and some of the Selective Boosters to get redy for the selective test.
Over the Christmas and New year school holidays, these students should try to get a lot of work done. When the number of test results get to 700, it does make a real difference. This may mean that they have to do 25-30 tests per week during the holidays. Then, when term 1 of 2018 starts, it makes sense to take 2 days off from school per week to do more work. This makes room for a rest just before the selective test. Students can take 1 full week off doing nothing just to relax, stay healthy and let the memory fully recover from the pressure of hard work.
29 Nov
---
A revision set of year 6 school maths for checking learning gaps have been uploaded to page QUICK LINKS.
Year 5 students can do the year 6 revision set to make sure there are no learning gaps. This is the minimum level of school maths expected to support the difficult maths at selective test level.
Parents will have to do the marking or students have to get on the module Maths Lessons, go to the Weekly Revision section and put the answers in for each 2-page test to get the questions marked.
Those who still have learning maths gaps should use the document Maths Lessons guide to cover all school maths topics at 1 year higher than their current school year. This is the minimum required.
For a few students who are well ahead of others in selective preparation and their scores in Maths and English at year 6-7 level are consistently around 90%, it might be a good idea to do the year 7 maths revision. Year 7 maths is not very relevant to selective maths questions but it can provide more efficient ways for calculation (speeding up).
27 Nov
---
It's now the time to look at applying for private school scholarships. Many students have completed the early scholarship tests. The result coming out in Dec will give some idea on strengths and weaknesses and inform how to prepare for the main scholarship season (and the Selective test).
Parents who are interested in private school scholarships should apply to 2-3 schools and try to make sure the test dates are as far apart as possible.
Popular private schools in Sydney offering scholarships
This list is for 2017 and 2018. Early scholarships in Sep-Nov are offered at Abbotsleigh, Pymble LC, Danebank (girls) and Barker, The Scots College (boys) in 2017. However, Barker and Abbotsleigh do NOT offer performance report to parents.
Parents must also beware of the ACER co-op test (one test with result to be shared between schools). This test forces parents to nominate a preferred school (first choice). Often, other lower schools will be happy to take the fee but won't offer anything. So it makes sense to apply to just ONE school offering the ACER co-op test.
The ranking in 2016 HSC can serve as a guide. However, any school that provide IB program would have their best students in IB program (and they will not do HSC). That means the ranking based on HSC will be lower than otherwise. This is why some schools ranked outside top 50 but offers IB are also considered as elite schools.
The main season of scholarship tests is from Feb to Mar each year.
School name
|
Type
|
Location
|
Date
|
Test type
|
Ranking
|
Trinity Grammar (IB)
|
Boys
|
Summer Hill
|
Sat 10 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
106
|
Sydney Grammar
|
Boys
|
Darlinghurst
|
Sun 11 Feb
|
unknown
|
6
|
Newington (IB)
|
Boys
|
Stanmore
|
Mon 12 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
89
|
The King’s School
|
Boys
|
North Parramatta
|
Sun 18 Feb
|
Edu Test
|
30
|
Knox Grammar
|
Boys
|
Wahroonga
|
Fri 23 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
28
|
Sydney Church of England
Grammar School (SHORE)
|
Boys
|
North Sydney
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
26
|
St Joseph’s College
|
Boys
|
Hunters Hill
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
90
|
Cranbrook School (IB)
|
Boys
|
Bellevue Hill
|
Sat 3 Mar
|
Academic Services
|
56
|
Emanuel School
|
Co-ed
|
Randwick
|
Thur 15 Feb
|
ACER alternative
|
38
|
St Luke’s Grammar School
|
Co-ed
|
Dee Why
|
Sat 17 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
58
|
Arden Anglican School Secondary
|
Co-ed
|
Epping
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
116
|
International Grammar School
|
Co-ed
|
Ultimo
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
96
|
Penrith Anglican College Secondary (IB)
|
Co-ed
|
Orchard Hills
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
96
|
Oxford Falls Grammar School
|
Co-ed
|
Oxford Falls
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
107
|
Pittwater House
|
Co-ed
|
Collaroy
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
110
|
Northholm Grammar School
|
Co-ed
|
Fiddletown
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
130
|
Thomas Hassall Anglican College
|
Co-ed
|
Middleton Grange
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
137
|
St Andrew’s Cathedral School (IB)
|
Co-ed
|
Sydney
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
139
|
Georges River Grammar
|
Co-ed
|
Georges Hall
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
140
|
SCECGS Redlands (IB)
|
Co-ed
|
Cremorne
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
153
|
Rosebank College
|
Co-ed
|
Five Dock
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
179
|
St Paul's Grammar School (IB)
|
Co-ed
|
Cranebrook
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
273
|
All Saints Grammar
|
Co-ed
|
Belmore
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
278
|
ShellHarbour Anglican College
|
Co-ed
|
Dunmore
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
290
|
Wollondilly Anglican College
|
Co-ed
|
Bargo
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
304
|
Rouse Hill Anglican College
|
Co-ed
|
Rouse Hill
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
313
|
Reddam House School
|
Co-ed
|
Woollahra
|
TBA (in Feb)
|
ACER alternative
|
8
|
The Hills Grammar (IB)
|
Co-ed
|
Kenthurst
|
Sat 3 Mar
|
Academic Services
|
73
|
Pacific Hills Christian School
|
Co-ed
|
Dural
|
Sat 3 Mar
|
ACER alternative
|
131
|
St George Christian School
|
Co-ed
|
Hurstville
|
Fri 9 Mar
|
ACER alternative
|
169
|
St Catherine’s School
|
Girls
|
Waverley
|
Sat 10 Mar
|
Academic Services
|
46
|
The Illawarra Grammar School (IB)
|
Co-ed
|
Mangerton
|
Thur 29 Mar
|
Academic Services
|
245
|
Ascham School
|
Girls
|
Edgecliff
|
Sat 10 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
18
|
Santa Sabina College (IB)
|
Girls
|
Strathfield
|
Sat 10 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
47
|
Brigidine College St Ives
|
Girls
|
St Ives
|
Sat 10 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
50
|
Queenwood School for Girls (IB)
|
Girls
|
Mosman
|
Fri 16 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
19
|
Meriden School
|
Girls
|
Strathfield
|
Sat 17 Feb
|
Academic Services
|
22
|
MLC School (IB)
|
Girls
|
Burwood
|
Sat 17 Feb
|
ACER alternative
|
68
|
SCEGGS
|
Girls
|
Darlinghurst
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
12
|
Presbyterian Ladies' College
|
Girls
|
Croydon
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
36
|
Ravenswood School (IB)
|
Girls
|
Gordon
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
39
|
Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy (IB)
|
Girls
|
North Sydney
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
74
|
St Vincent’s College
|
Girls
|
Potts Point
|
Sat 24 Feb
|
ACER Co-op
|
81
|
Wenona School
|
Girls
|
North Sydney
|
Fri 2 Mar
|
Academic Services
|
15
|
TARA Anglican School for Girls
(IB)
|
Girls
|
North Parramatta
|
Fri 2 Mar
|
Academic Services
|
43
|
Kambala School (IB)
|
Girls
|
Rose Bay
|
Sat 3 Mar
|
Academic Services
|
56
|
Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta Secondary
|
Girls
|
Parramatta
|
Sat 3 Mar
|
Academic Services
|
100
|
There is one high ranked selective Catholic school in North Sydney called St Aloysius that has a generous bursary program but ONLY for Catholic students. Parents must contact the school for details.
For more information and other states, visit the website of local private schools and also the website of the largest assessment agencies.
ACER scholarships (with links to different states)
Academic Services Scholarships
EduTest scholarships
Independent Schools Scholarships & Bursaries
27th Nov
---
No girls received offers of interview from Danebank, Abbotsleigh and Pymble LC. It looks like no girls went for Danebank. We will know more about their performance when the report comes out for Pymble LC test. This is fine as the early scholarship tests are just for warming up. We are focusing on peaking the students in Feb for the main scholarship season and the selective school test. The scores on first 3 selective trials and series that lead to these look very good for the strong students. So everything is looking very smooth to match last year's performance.
6th July
---
After this holiday period, year 5 students will soon face the ICAS English and Maths competition. These 2 tests are very important for some students as their schools will use them as part of the school marks for the selective school application. To prepare for these competitions students should at least get the following work done.
To hope for High Distinction students must score well on this minimum amount of work
Test series
|
Qty
|
OC Mathematics Booster (6 tests)
|
all
|
Mathematics Grade 5 (11 tests)
|
Test 5-11
|
Math Short Response Grade 5 (12 tests)
|
5 tests
|
Mathematics Grade 6 (11 tests)
|
tests 1-6
|
Mini Math Challenge Grade 6-7 (44 tests)
|
5 tests
|
Mini Math Problem Solving Grade 6-7 (50 tests)
|
5 tests
|
OC English Booster (16 tests)
|
all
|
English Reading Skills Grade 6 (67 tests)
|
one test from each test type
|
English Comprehension Grade 6 (22 tests)
|
5 tests
|
English Comprehension Grade 7 (22 tests)
|
3 tests
|
English Deep Comprehension Exercise (20 tests)
|
2 tests
|
We will soon enter the period where strong students should be preparing for early scholarship tests. These tests are offerred by a few elite private schools in Oct. They are much better than the mock selective trials offerred by tutoring colleges. This early scholarship preparation is between 1st Aug and 1st Oct where students will do some difficult work, 2 selective trials and writing work.
See 2017 Early Scholarship Tests in Sydney for more details
This is a snapshot of some early scholarship testresults for year 5 students in Oct 2016.
---
Information from the Selective School Unit (SSU)
Minimum entry scores for 2017 (from 2016 the Selective Test): 2017 minimum cutoffs
Official webpage for Selective School Test: Selective School - Year 7
The timing for Selective test preparation
Time
|
Activities
|
Year 5, Jan - Jul
|
OC level (advanced year 4 and year 5) revision
|
Year 5, Jul - Oct
|
Year 6 level, year 7 level and 1st 2 Selective
Trials
|
Year 5, Oct - Nov
|
Early private school scholarship tests and some
big selective trials at big tutoring colleges such as Northshore, PreUni,
James An, etc.
|
Year 5, Dec
|
Analysing results from early scholarship tests
|
Year 5 and 6, Dec - Feb
|
Year 6 - 7 level, doing 6 more Selective trials
and Selective Boosters
|
Year 6, Feb-Mar
|
Main season for private school scholarships
|
Year 6, mid Mar
|
NSW Selective School Test (and WA plus various
places)
|
Mathemafix documents
Important Mathemafix guides for Selective Test preparation. These documents are only available to members after they log on the website.
---
User Guide (updated Feb 2017) *
SS G&T Program Year 5-6 *
Selective Roadmap *
SS Work Schedule (updated Mar 2017)
Maths Lessons Guide
Maths Problem Solving Strategies Year 4-5
Maths Problem Solving Strategies Year 6-7
Guide for Scholarship and Selective Test Writing (updated May 2017)
Guide for English Question Types and Strategies
Guide for Exam Techniques
* most important documents
UNSW ICAS competitions
The ICAS competitions are worth preparing for. Some OC classes will use ICAS English and Maths as part of the school marks for the Selective School application. Generally, getting top 3% - 1% in the ICAS maths and English competition is a good sign for success in the Selective School test.
ICAS
SUBJECT
|
ICAS
SITTING DATE
|
OFFICIAL
CLOSING DATE
|
Digital
Technologies
|
Tuesday,
23 May 2017
|
Friday,
7 April 2017
|
Science
|
Tuesday,
30 May 2017
|
Tuesday,
2 May 2017
|
Writing
|
Monday,
12 June – Friday, 16 June 2017*
|
Monday,
15 May 2017
|
Spelling
|
Wednesday,
14 June 2017
|
Tuesday,
16 May 2017
|
English
|
Tuesday,
1 August 2017
|
Friday,
23 June 2017
|
Mathematics
|
Tuesday,
15 August 2017
|
Friday,
23 June 2017
|
To prepare for the ICAS tests, students should do the following work
ICAS
SUBJECT
|
Suggested
work and test series
|
||
Digital
Technologies
|
Computer
Skills Grade 3-4
Computer
Skills Grade 5-6
|
||
Science
|
Mini
Science and General Problem Solving Grade 3-4
Mini
Science and General Problem Solving Grade 5-6
|
||
Writing
|
Do work
in modules: Read Summarise Write, Punctuation,
Story Starter and the Writing Forum |
||
Spelling
|
Do work
in modules: Wordlist and VocabTest
English
Vocabulary Year 5-6
|
||
English
|
|
||
Mathematics
|
Mini
Math Challenge Grade 4-5
OC
Mathematics Booster
Mini
Math Challenge Grade 6-7
Mini
Math Problem Solving Grade 6-7
|
