Selective schools NSW: every selective high school and opportunity class, with places

By Jon Petruch · Official details checked 21 October 2026

There are 48 selective schools in NSW for Year 7 entry: 17 fully selective, 27 partially selective and 4 agricultural high schools, plus Aurora College online classes, with 4,338 places between them. There are also 89 opportunity classes for Year 5 entry, with 1,840 places. This page lists every one, with its suburb, type and number of places for 2027 entry, taken from the NSW Department of Education's official lists.

How many selective schools are there in NSW?

NSW has 17 fully selective high schools, 27 partially selective high schools and 4 agricultural high schools, plus Aurora College's online selective classes for rural and remote students. The department lists 4,338 Year 7 places across all of them for 2027 entry.

You'll see other counts online. Some lists are out of date, and some count the agricultural schools as fully selective. The figures here are the department's own.

What is the difference between fully and partially selective?

At a fully selective high school, every student comes through the selective placement process. A partially selective high school has selective classes alongside local students in non-selective classes.

Agricultural high schools are selective schools where agriculture is a compulsory subject from Years 7 to 10, and some offer boarding. Farrer Memorial and Yanco handle boarding applications directly, and their boarders don't have to sit the placement test.

Which are the NSW selective high schools?

These are all the selective high schools for Year 7 entry in 2027, with Year 7 places from the department's official list. From 2027, co-educational schools have a set number of places for boys and for girls.

Agricultural school places include boarding places where offered. Sydney Secondary College's Blackwattle Bay campus (Years 11 to 12) is also listed by the department but has no Year 7 intake. Always check the official list and each school's website before you apply, as places can change.

Which selective schools are in Sydney?

Most selective schools are in metropolitan Sydney, including the largest: Sydney Boys and Sydney Girls High with 180 places each, and North Sydney Boys, North Sydney Girls, St George Girls and Sydney Technical with 150 each. Outside Sydney, the selective schools are in places like Gosford, Newcastle (Merewether), Wollongong (Smiths Hill), Tamworth, Wagga Wagga, Armidale, Grafton and Queanbeyan.

You can apply to any selective school, including ones outside your local enrolment area. Students must be living in NSW by the start of the school year they enter.

How many OC schools are there in NSW?

There are 89 opportunity classes in NSW: 57 schools in metropolitan Sydney, 31 in rural or regional centres, and Aurora College's online classes. Across them, the department lists 1,840 Year 5 places for 2027 entry.

Most OC schools take 15 or 30 Year 5 students. A school with 15 places runs one composite Year 5 and 6 class; a school with 30 places runs either two single-year classes or two composite classes.

Which schools have opportunity classes?

These are all the schools with opportunity classes for Year 5 entry in 2027, with their number of Year 5 places. Hurstville has the most, with 60.

• Alexandra Park Community School, Alexandria: 30 places
• Alstonville Public School, Alstonville: 15 places
• Armidale City Public School, Armidale: 15 places
• Artarmon Public School, Artarmon: 30 places
• Ashfield Public School, Ashfield: 30 places
• Aurora College, Rural and remote (online): 100 places
• Balgowlah Heights Public School, Balgowlah: 15 places
• Balmain Public School, Balmain: 30 places
• Bathurst West Public School, Bathurst: 15 places
• Beecroft Public School, Beecroft: 30 places
• Biraban Public School, Toronto: 15 places
• Blacktown South Public School, Blacktown: 15 places
• Blacktown West Public School, Blacktown: 15 places
• Blaxcell Street Public School, Granville: 15 places
• Blaxland East Public School, Blaxland East: 30 places
• Bradbury Public School, Bradbury: 15 places
• Brookvale Public School, Brookvale: 15 places
• Camden South Public School, Camden: 15 places
• Caringbah North Public School, Caringbah: 15 places
• Casula Public School, Casula: 15 places
• Cessnock West Public School, Cessnock: 15 places
• Chatswood Public School, Chatswood: 30 places
• Colyton Public School, Mount Druitt: 15 places
• Coonabarabran Public School, Coonabarabran: 15 places
• Cudgegong Valley Public School, Mudgee: 15 places
• Doonside Public School, Doonside: 15 places
• Dubbo West Public School, Dubbo: 15 places
• Dural Public School, Dural: 30 places
• Earlwood Public School, Earlwood: 30 places
• Ermington Public School, West Ryde: 30 places
• Georges Hall Public School, Georges Hall: 15 places
• Glenbrook Public School, Glenbrook: not available in 2027
• Goonellabah Public School, Goonellabah: 15 places
• Gosford Public School, West Gosford: 30 places
• Goulburn West Public School, Goulburn: 15 places
• Greenacre Public School, Greenacre: 15 places
• Greystanes Public School, Greystanes: 30 places
• Guildford West Public School, Guildford West: 15 places
• Harrington Street Public School, Cabramatta: 15 places
• Holsworthy Public School, Holsworthy: 15 places
• Hurstville Public School, Hurstville: 60 places
• Illaroo Road Public School, Nowra: 15 places
• Ironbark Ridge Public School, Rouse Hill: 15 places
• Jewells Primary School, Jewells: 15 places
• Kingswood Public School, Kingswood: 15 places
• Leumeah Public School, Leumeah: 15 places
• Lindfield East Public School, East Lindfield: 15 places
• Lithgow Public School, Lithgow: 15 places
• Maroubra Junction Public School, Maroubra: 15 places
• Maryland Public School, Maryland, Newcastle: 15 places
• Matthew Pearce Public School, Baulkham Hills: 30 places
• Miranda Public School, Miranda: 15 places
• Mona Vale Public School, Mona Vale: 30 places
• Moree Public School, Moree: 15 places
• Moss Vale Public School, Moss Vale: 15 places
• Neutral Bay Public School, Neutral Bay: 30 places
• Newbridge Heights Public School, Chipping Norton: 15 places
• New Lambton South Public School, New Lambton: 15 places
• North Rocks Public School, North Rocks: 30 places
• Penrith Public School, Penrith: 15 places
• Picnic Point Public School, Picnic Point: 15 places
• Port Macquarie Public School, Port Macquarie: 15 places
• Quakers Hill Public School, Quakers Hill: 30 places
• Queanbeyan South Public School, Queanbeyan: 15 places
• Richmond Public School, Richmond: 30 places
• Rutherford Public School, Rutherford: 15 places
• Ryde Public School, Ryde: 30 places
• Smithfield Public School, Smithfield: 15 places
• Soldiers Point Public School, Soldiers Point: 15 places
• South Grafton Public School, South Grafton: 15 places
• St Andrews Public School, St Andrews: 15 places
• St Clair Public School, St Clair: 15 places
• St Johns Park Public School, St Johns Park: 15 places
• Sturt Public School, Wagga Wagga: 15 places
• Summer Hill Public School, Summer Hill: 30 places
• Sutherland Public School, Sutherland: 30 places
• Tahmoor Public School, Tahmoor: 15 places
• Tamworth Public School, Tamworth: 15 places
• Tamworth South Public School, Tamworth: 15 places
• Tighes Hill Public School, Tighes Hill: 15 places
• Toongabbie Public School, Toongabbie: 15 places
• Toormina Public School, Toormina: 15 places
• Wahroonga Public School, Wahroonga: 15 places
• Waitara Public School, Wahroonga: 30 places
• Wentworth Falls Public School, Wentworth Falls: 15 places
• Wilkins Public School, Marrickville: 30 places
• Wollongong Public School, Wollongong: 30 places
• Woollahra Public School, Woollahra: 30 places
• Wyong Public School, Wyong: 30 places

Aurora College's 100 places are online classes for rural and remote students, who stay at a local host school. Check the official OC list before you apply.

How many schools can I choose?

You can choose up to 3 selective high schools or up to 4 opportunity class schools, listed in order of preference. The department says listing a school first gives your child no extra consideration, because every choice is decided on test performance alone.

Order still matters. You can't decline an offer to get a later offer from a lower choice, so put the school you want most first, and only list schools you'd genuinely be happy for your child to attend.

Are selective schools free?

Yes. Selective high schools are public schools and don't charge attendance fees, except for boarding at agricultural high schools, according to the department.

Schools may ask for contributions towards textbooks, materials, excursions or sport, as any public school can. Financial help may be available for rural and remote students applying for boarding.

Which is the best selective school?

There's no official ranking of selective schools, and the department doesn't publish entry scores either. Sites that rank "the best selective schools" are using HSC results tables or their own estimates, which is why their lists disagree.

The more useful question is which school suits your child: location and travel, single-sex or co-educational, size, and whether a fully or partially selective setting fits them better. Visit open days and read each school's website before you decide.

How should we choose our school preferences?

Choose schools your child would be happy at and can travel to, then order them by where you'd most like them to go. Because there's no first-choice advantage, there's no reason to "play safe" with the order.

From Jon: Start with your child, not the school. Which school is best for them? Would they thrive in a purely academic school, or do they need strong extracurricular activities, and which ones, and do those need particular facilities? Knowing that helps a lot. Think about future aspirations too. It may be early, but some children already show what they want to do later in life, and you can help them navigate that path earlier on.

For what each test involves, see our guides to the OC test and the selective schools test. When you're ready to practise, our OC practice tests and NSW Selective practice tests give your child timed, exam-style practice with worked explanations.