Fully selective boys’ school · Moore Park

Sydney Boys High School Entrance Exam 2027

Sydney Boys High School in Moore Park is a fully selective boys’ school. Year 7 places come through the NSW selective test sat in Year 6. For Years 8 to 11 the school sets its own placement tests for shortlisted applicants.

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Quick facts

School
Fully selective high school for boys[1]
Location
Cleveland Street, Moore Park, Surry Hills[1]
Year 7 places
180[1]
Years 8–11
The school’s own placement tests, for shortlisted applicants[2]
Next Year 7 test
Expected May 2027 (estimate)[3]

How entry to Sydney Boys High works

  • Vacancies after Year 7: for Year 9, up to 30 places may be offered; for Years 8 and 10 there are historically very few, if any; for Year 11, up to 6 places. The school does not accept enrolments into Year 12.[2]
  • Shortlisted applicants sit the Sydney Boys High School Placement Tests: a range of literacy and numeracy tasks set by the school. Year 11 applicants also sit a general ability science test. Interviews follow for the number of vacancies plus reserves.[2]
  • For 2027 entry, the placement tests were held on Monday 10 August 2026.[2]

Year 7 entry: the same process for every selective high school

  • For Year 7 entry, parents apply at the end of Year 5 or the beginning of Year 6, and the student sits the placement test in Year 6.[1],[3]
  • Places are offered on test performance and the order of the family’s school choices. The Department says there are no set minimum entry scores: the level needed depends on how many students apply, how they perform and how many places are available.[4]
  • Up to 20% of places at each school are held for students from low socio-educational advantage backgrounds, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students, students from rural and remote locations, and students with disability.[4]
  • Years 8 to 11 work differently: each selective school manages its own vacancies, assessments and placement decisions, some schools use a placement test, and families apply the year before, with a separate application for each school.[5]
  • For 2027 entry, Baulkham Hills, James Ruse, North Sydney Boys, North Sydney Girls, Sydney Girls and Chatswood high schools shared one EduTest exam for Years 8 to 11, sat once. Each school receives the results and runs its own review.[6]

The Year 7 entrance exam format

Sydney Boys High uses the NSW Selective High School Placement Test, sat in Year 6.

TestTime
Reading45 min
Mathematical Reasoning40 min
Thinking Skills40 min
Writing30 min
  • Times from the Department of Education’s example test-day timetable, which also has breaks between the tests. Students take the test on computers provided by the department.[3]
  • Students sit the test on one day only. In 2026 it ran on Friday 1 and Saturday 2 May, with a make-up test on Friday 22 May.[3]

Key dates

Official dates for the next round are not all published yet. Estimates are marked.

Year 7 applications
For 2027 entry they closed on 20 February 2026. Dates for 2028 entry are not yet published[7],[8]
Year 7 test
Expected May 2027 (our estimate; the 2026 test was on 1–2 May)[3]
Year 7 outcomes
In 2026, expected on 19 August[8]
Years 8–11 entry
For 2027 entry, applications ran 17 June to 24 July 2026, with assessments in August and September[5]

How to practise for the Sydney Boys High entrance exam

Timed practice papers, marked instantly, with an explanation for every question. There are 90 NSW Selective Test papers in all, including one free paper in every subject.

In the examPractise with
ReadingNSW Reading papers, in the official 4-part structure
Mathematical ReasoningNSW Mathematical Reasoning papers
Thinking SkillsNSW Thinking Skills papers
WritingNot covered: we do not mark writing

Our NSW papers follow the question styles of the Cambridge-written test and stay within the Stage 3 syllabus it is based on. Harder papers add reasoning steps, not high-school topics.

Questions about the Sydney Boys High entrance exam

What test do you sit to get into Sydney Boys High?

For Year 7, the NSW Selective High School Placement Test, sat in Year 6. For Years 8 to 11, the school runs its own placement tests (literacy and numeracy tasks) for shortlisted applicants, not EduTest.

How many Year 7 places does Sydney Boys High have?

The Department of Education lists 180 places for boys. For Year 9, the school says up to 30 further places may be offered.

What score do you need to get into Sydney Boys High?

The NSW Department of Education says there are no set minimum entry scores. The level of test performance needed depends on how many students apply, how they perform, how many places there are and how many offers are declined, so it changes every year.

When is the Sydney Boys High entrance exam?

The Year 7 test is held in May of Year 6. In 2026 it ran on 1–2 May, so we expect May 2027 (not yet announced). For Years 8 to 11 entry in 2027, the school’s placement tests were on Monday 10 August 2026.

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