Selective school (New South Wales)

[1] Each year, approximately 15,000 Year 6 students across the state of New South Wales optionally undertake the Selective High School Placement Test to seek one of the 3,600 places offered for first-year entry into selective high schools.

[2] The first government selective high schools in NSW were established in the late 19th and early 20th century.

The conversion was resisted by parents and influential alumni of especially inner-city selective schools such as Fort Street.

The College uses a range of technologies to access more fast-paced lessons delivered by video and interact with each other, and attend a residential program held twice per year.

Often, schools combine selective and comprehensive streams as students enter the senior years,[10] however, in practice, selective students tend to "self-select" into more advanced classes, such as extension units in Mathematics and English.

The HAST (Higher Ability Selection Test) is a common examination conducted by the students first choice of the application or the school with highest priority that requires the HAST results, however, some schools may use their own test method.

Academically gifted students are found using the HAST secondary school ability test, which is used to place them in accelerated learning and enhancement programmes.

Reading comprehension, mathematical thinking, abstract reasoning, and written expression are all included in this assessment of natural talent and academic potential.

[19] The recommendation were justified, from the viewpoint of the inquiry's chair UNSW Professor Tony Vinson, by the fact that 'wherever possible, talented students should be able to remain within mainstream schools to maximise social cohesion and "an inclusive school community"'.

Another report commissioned by the Department of Education, in 2005, drew on consultation with the public across the entire state school system and found that opinions are still polarised on whether they should continue to exist.

[citation needed] In December 2018, the then NSW Minister for Education, Rob Stokes, announced the findings of the Review of Selective Education Access[21] that outlined changes that aim to increase the number of girls, poor and disabled students, and students stronger in English than other subjects, in selective schools.