HAST Tutoring and Preparation for Year 8 to 11 Selective Entry in NSW

The HAST at a glance

What is the HAST?

The HAST is the Higher Ability Selection Test, developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), an independent not-for-profit organisation. ACER designs it to tell apart students who are already strong. In ACER's words, it tests "skills and aptitude, not retrieved knowledge".

Each NSW selective high school runs its own Year 8 to 11 entry. A school that uses the HAST registers with ACER and chooses its own test date. You register with the school, and your child sits the test on paper at the school. ACER marks the papers and reports the results to the school, and the school decides.

The HAST is not the Year 7 selective test, which is the NSW Department of Education's computer-based test, sat in Year 6. New to Year 8 to 11 entry? Our guide to selective school transfer explains how it works across NSW.

Three levels, set by your child's year

ACER runs the secondary HAST at three levels. The level depends on your child's current year, not on the school.

Source: ACER's HAST student support page and HAST program page, read 1 October 2026.

Children applying for Year 9 and Year 10 entry sit the same Middle level, and science joins the maths test from Year 9 entry. ACER's summary page calls that test Mathematical and Scientific Reasoning. Its detailed pages and its bulletin call it Mathematical Reasoning, which is the name we use.

Which NSW schools use the HAST for Year 8 to 11 entry?

These selective high schools use the HAST for Year 8 to 11 entry, according to their own enrolment pages or ACER's list, read on 1 October 2026. Each school name links to its own enrolment page, which is the final word on its process.

Schools and tests as at 1 October 2026.

Our entry guides: Blacktown Girls High School, Caringbah High School, Fort Street High School, Girraween High School, Gosford High School, Hornsby Girls High School, Hurlstone Agricultural High School, Macquarie Fields High School, Manly Selective Campus, Penrith Selective High School, St George Girls High School and Sydney Technical High School.

Sitting once for several schools. Most of these schools coordinate their HAST testing and share results. Last cycle, for 2027 entry, they tested on one day, Saturday 8 August 2026. If two schools on your list share results and test on the same day, your child sits the HAST once, at your first-preference school. Each school publishes its own sharing list, and the lists differ slightly, so check each one. If your schools test on different dates, ACER says each uses a different test, so your child sits at each.

Other schools, other tests. ACER's list of participating schools also names schools that are not on the NSW Department of Education's list of selective high schools. North Sydney Boys High School, James Ruse Agricultural High School and Baulkham Hills High School use the EduTest: see our EduTest guide. Normanhurst Boys High School and Sydney Boys High School each hold an entrance test at the school: see our comparison of the Normanhurst Boys High School and Sydney Boys High School entrance exams.

What is in the HAST, section by section

ACER publishes the order, the time and the range of questions for each test.

Source: ACER's Student Information Bulletin, Secondary, read 1 October 2026. There is a short break between tests 2 and 3. A school can use three tests instead: Reading Comprehension, Mathematical Reasoning, and either Abstract Reasoning or Written Expression. Our full-length mock exams follow ACER's order and timings, with the largest number of questions in each range.

Every question is worth the same, and ACER deducts no marks for wrong answers, so your child should answer every one.

Reading Comprehension

Forty-five minutes for 35 to 40 questions: roughly 68 to 77 seconds each, including reading time. ACER says the texts may include fiction, poetry, drama and non-fiction prose, with diagrams, tables, charts or maps, on topics from many subjects, though no special knowledge is needed. Our practice questions lean on inference: what a writer implies, why they wrote it and the tone they take, rather than facts your child can find by scanning.

Mathematical Reasoning

Forty minutes for 28 to 35 questions: roughly 69 to 86 seconds each. ACER says it measures mathematical ability, in contrast to a test of school achievement in mathematics. The skills it assesses include interpreting data, drawing conclusions, and reasoning and problem solving. At Year 8 entry it is maths only. From Year 9 entry it also includes science, in areas that may include astronomy, geology, geography, chemistry, physics and biology. No calculator is needed, so every practice question we write is solved without one.

Abstract Reasoning

Thirty minutes for 30 questions: a minute each. Your child finds the pattern in a sequence of diagrams, then continues or completes it. ACER's samples show three shapes of question: the next in a sequence, the middle of a sequence, and completing a pattern. The test contains no language. The Year 7 selective test has Thinking Skills instead of Abstract Reasoning. Our practice questions combine two or three rules at once, such as a rotation, an overlay and a shading cycle, so your child learns to check every rule before choosing.

Written Expression

Twenty-five minutes, one task, written in pen. Each school chooses either a discursive task or a creative task that asks for narrative writing. The stimulus may be a picture, a statement or both, and ACER penalises a rehearsed piece that is not developed from it. Two markers assess each piece independently, with a third if they differ by more than two points.

ACER says its markers consider thought and content, structure and organisation, and expression, style and mechanics. In our mocks, tutors mark the writing against Selective Success Academy's own criteria, in three areas, each out of 10. Those criteria and that scale are ours, not ACER's marking guide. Our discursive mock gives two people holding opposing views and asks your child to weigh both before reaching a view.

How the HAST is scored, and what the school sees

ACER machine-scores the multiple-choice tests, and qualified human markers assess the writing. ACER sends the results to the school within ten working days of receiving the papers, and the school contacts you about the outcome. The school receives two kinds of report:

• a school report, which lists applicants alphabetically and in order of merit, with raw scores, standardised scores, percentiles and stanines
• an individual report for each student, which gives no actual test scores and no rank

Results are reported against a reference group of Australian students who recently sat the HAST for gifted and talented selection, not against all students.

Each school sets its own selection criteria, which ACER says may not rest entirely on the test. Girraween High School and Penrith Selective High School both say their selection committee considers the test result and the application with its supporting documents. ACER publishes no pass mark or cut-off, and we do not publish a score target.

How to apply for Year 8 to 11 entry, and when

You apply through each school, not through ACER or the Department. Last cycle, for 2027 entry, the steps were:

1. Check the school takes applications for your child's year. You apply the year before entry: in Year 8 for Year 9 entry, for example.
2. Complete the form the school asks for. You can apply to up to three selective high schools, with a separate form to each and the schools in the same order of preference on every form.
3. Pay each school's fee and register for the HAST through the school. The school sets the fee and the closing date.
4. Attach the documents the school asks for. Every application includes a copy of the birth certificate, citizenship or passport. The Department's form asks for school reports. Penrith Selective High School and Girraween High School also asked for NAPLAN reports and evidence of achievements and activities. Penrith Selective High School allowed up to ten pages for each of those two kinds of evidence.
5. Sit the HAST on the school's test day. If your schools share results and test on the same day, your child sits once, at your first-preference school.
6. Attend an interview if the school runs one. Penrith Selective High School says interviews may be part of its selection. Girraween High School's enrolment policy has students who accept a placement attend an interview with a parent, at its enrolment afternoon early in Term 4.
7. Receive the outcome. The school makes an offer, adds your child to a reserve list, or tells you the application was unsuccessful.

What it cost to sit the HAST last cycle (2027 entry). Each school sets its own fee. Fees for 2028 entry are not published yet.

Fees as at 1 October 2026, from each school's own enrolment page. We have not checked fees at the other schools.

Last cycle's dates: 2027 entry (exams in August 2026)

These are the dates for 2027 entry. Applications for that round closed in July 2026. They show how the year runs. They are not the dates for 2028 entry.

Dates as at 1 October 2026, as published by each source in the table.

Schools do not all run on the Department's dates. Last cycle, Sydney Boys High School opened applications on Friday 12 June 2026. ACER and Edutest also leave the test date to each school, so a school outside these groups can test on a different day. Check the school's own enrolment page.

2028 entry (exams in August 2027)

No 2028-entry dates have been published yet. As at 1 October 2026, the NSW Department of Education lists only last cycle's dates, and no school we have checked has published a test date. Some schools have said when applications will open. Sydney Boys High School says its application forms for Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 in 2028 will be available from mid-June 2027. Penrith Selective High School says applications for Years 8 to 11 entry in 2028 open mid June 2027. The Department notes that dates can change, so check each school's own enrolment page regularly.

Preparing for Year 8, 9, 10 and 11 entry

Preparation changes with your child's year: the HAST level they sit, what the maths test covers, and which schools test at that year. We tailor tutoring to your child's entry year.

Year 8 entry: applying in Year 7

Your child sits the HAST in Year 7, at ACER's Junior level, where the maths test is maths only. Every school in the table above uses the HAST for Year 8 entry except Fort Street High School. Abstract Reasoning is not part of the Year 7 selective test, so it may be new to your child. Preparation builds the foundations: close reading, maths reasoning without a calculator, Abstract Reasoning patterns and working to time.

Focus: aptitude foundations, abstract pattern recognition, exam timing.

See the Year 7 classes, for Year 8 entry

How Year 8 selective entry works, school by school

Year 9 entry: applying in Year 8

Your child sits the HAST in Year 8, at ACER's Middle level. This is where science joins the maths test. Our practice has your child interpret scientific data, such as graphs, tables and experimental results, without needing specialist science knowledge. In Reading Comprehension we push for sharper inference, and in writing for one developed idea rather than a list of points. With roughly a minute or more for each multiple-choice question, accuracy and depth of reasoning matter as much as speed.

Focus: deep reasoning, scientific data, analytical reading, structured writing.

See the Year 8 classes, for Year 9 entry

How Year 9 selective entry works, school by school

Year 10 entry: applying in Year 9

Your child sits the HAST in Year 9, at the same Middle level as Year 9 entry, with science in the maths test. Year 10 entry suits a student who wants to move before the senior years. Preparation goes further at the same level: harder data and science reasoning, Abstract Reasoning with several rules at once, and more mature writing.

Focus: data and science reasoning, advanced abstract reasoning, mature writing.

See the Year 9 classes, for Year 10 entry

How Year 10 selective entry works, school by school

Year 11 entry: applying in Year 10

Your child sits the HAST in Year 10, at ACER's Senior level. Year 11 is the last year covered by the Department's Years 8 to 11 process. Fort Street High School uses the HAST for Year 11 entry only. ACER lists neither of its sample booklets for the Senior level. We write separate material for each HAST level, Senior included.

Focus: HSC readiness, mature analytical writing, complex problem solving.

See the Year 10 classes, for Year 11 entry

How Year 11 selective entry works, school by school

How Selective Success Academy prepares students for the HAST

Selective Success Academy prepares students for the HAST with small-group tutoring, taught live on Microsoft Teams and set to the HAST level your child will sit. A term is ten weekly lessons of two hours. Lesson recordings are included, so a clash with sport or a sick day does not cost your child the content. Each term includes a full-length mock exam in ACER's order and timings, with a review and marked feedback, plus vocabulary lists and strategies for the HAST. The full list of what a term includes is under the prices below.

Every practice question is written by Selective Success Academy for the level your child will sit. It is our own material in the style of the HAST, not ACER material and not past papers. We are an independent tutoring provider and are not affiliated with ACER.

If our class times do not suit your family, ask us. We can often arrange another time.

What HAST tutoring costs

Prices as at 1 October 2026.

The live term course is 20 hours of teaching, so $900 works out at $45 an hour. It includes small group classes, lesson recordings, a full-length mock exam with a comprehensive review, marking feedback on weekly homework and the mock, lesson and homework booklets, and online messaging support.

A question bank gives your child practice. It does not contain any teaching hours, and it cannot tell you which school to apply to, what the school report needs to show, or when the application closes.

Class times are on the timetable, and every course is on courses and prices.

Who teaches it, and what families say

Who teaches this

Ilia founded Selective Success Academy and is its head tutor. He has been through this himself: he missed out on selective school at first, then entered North Sydney Boys High School by lateral transfer. He became a North Sydney Boys High School Dux, finished school with a 99.90 ATAR and now studies Medicine at UNSW. His story was featured in The Sydney Morning Herald in April 2026.

What families say

Rated 5/5 from 90+ parent reviews

80+ selective school offers. See our students' results

Questions parents ask about the HAST

What does HAST stand for, and who runs it?

HAST stands for Higher Ability Selection Test. It is developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), which supplies and marks the papers. Each school that uses it runs the sitting, sets its own date and fee, and makes its own decisions. You may also see it written as "High Ability Selection Test", but ACER's name is Higher Ability Selection Test.

Is the HAST harder than the selective test?

Nobody can honestly say. ACER and the NSW Department of Education, which runs the Year 7 selective test, do not publish a comparison, and the two tests are built for different stages. The Year 7 test is sat in Year 6, on a computer, and draws on the NSW curriculum up to Year 6. The HAST is on paper, at one of three levels matched to your child's year. It has Abstract Reasoning where the Year 7 test has Thinking Skills, its writing task is 25 minutes against 30, and from Year 9 entry its maths test includes science.

How long is the HAST?

When a school uses all four tests, the HAST is 2 hours and 20 minutes of testing: Reading Comprehension 45 minutes, Mathematical Reasoning 40 minutes, Abstract Reasoning 30 minutes and Written Expression 25 minutes, with a short break after the second test. Some schools use three tests, which is shorter. If your child is late for the first test, the supervisor decides whether they can go in, and no extra time is given.

How much does it cost to sit the HAST?

Each school sets its own fee. Last cycle, for 2027 entry, sitting the HAST at your first-preference school cost $130 at Penrith Selective High School and Girraween High School, and $140 at Hornsby Girls High School, St George Girls High School, Caringbah High School and Gosford High School. Several of these schools charged $50 when your child sat the test at another school in the group. Fees for 2028 entry are not published yet.

How do you apply for the HAST?

Through each school, not through ACER or the Department. Check that the school takes applications for your child's year, then complete the form it asks for by its closing date. You can apply to up to three selective high schools, with a separate form to each and your preferences in the same order on every one. If your child needs special arrangements, ask the school when you register, and no later than four weeks before the test.

How important is the school report?

It is part of the application. The NSW Department of Education says selection committees assess applications on academic performance as shown in the application and, where the school tests, through testing. The Department's application form asks for your child's school reports for the current or previous year. Penrith Selective High School and Girraween High School also asked for NAPLAN reports and evidence of achievements and activities. No school we checked publishes how it weighs the reports against the HAST.

Which HAST level will my child sit?

It depends on your child's current year, not on the school. ACER runs three secondary levels: Junior for Year 8 entry, Middle for Year 9 and Year 10 entry, and Senior for Year 11 entry. From the Middle level up, the maths test includes science.

Can a student sit a selective test in Year 9?

Yes. A student in Year 9 can apply for Year 10 entry, and a student in Year 8 applies for Year 9 entry. You apply in the year before your child would start. At HAST schools, students in Year 8 and Year 9 both sit ACER's Middle level. Schools differ in which years they test, so check each school's own page.

Is the HAST the same as the EduTest?

No. The HAST is developed by ACER, and the EduTest is run by Edutest Pty Ltd, an independent testing organisation. The HAST has Reading Comprehension, Mathematical Reasoning, Abstract Reasoning and Written Expression. The EduTest has Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics and Written Expression. Each school decides which test it uses, so a child applying to a HAST school and an EduTest school sits both. See our EduTest guide.

Where can you find HAST practice questions?

ACER says past papers are not available. It sells two sample question booklets as PDF downloads from its own shop, a 2023 edition with 100 questions and a 2019 edition with 49, and says it sells practice material only directly. Neither booklet is listed for the Senior level. Its free Student Information Bulletin has a few sample questions with answers. Our own practice material is written by Selective Success Academy in the style of the HAST. It is not ACER material and not past papers. Some of our HAST-style practice questions, with worked answers, are on HAST practice questions. Our free information package and sample exams are on free resources, and our full-length mock exams follow ACER's order and timings.

Can my child use a calculator?

No calculator is needed. ACER's bulletin says students will not need a calculator, ruler, dictionary or paper. It asks them to bring two HB or 2B pencils, an eraser, a sharpener, two blue or black pens for the writing test, and a snack and water for the break.

How many places are there?

It varies by school and by year level. The NSW Department of Education says vacancies depend on student departures and each school is different, and each selective school manages its own. We do not quote a number. Book a short call and we can talk through the schools on your list.

Which HAST school is hardest to get into?

No official source compares them, and we would rather not guess. It depends on how many students leave a school at your child's year level in a given year, and on who else applies, because each school sees its own applicants in order of merit. Book a call and we can talk it through for your child.

Can my child move from one selective school to another?

Not automatically. The NSW Department of Education says students cannot transfer automatically between selective schools, and parents and carers must reapply. Your child applies to the new school like any other applicant and, if it is a HAST school, sits the HAST. Our guide to selective school transfer explains how it works.

Sources

Every official source on this page was read on 1 October 2026.

• ACER: Higher Ability Selection Test (HAST)
• ACER: HAST program, with the section descriptions and reports
• ACER: HAST student support and questions
• ACER: HAST Student Information Bulletin, Secondary (PDF)
• ACER: special test accommodations (PDF)
• ACER: HAST participating schools
• ACER shop: HAST sample question booklets
• NSW Department of Education: Years 8 to 11 applications
• NSW Department of Education: selective high schools and opportunity classes procedures
• NSW Department of Education: Years 8 to 11 application form, 2027 entry (PDF, hosted by Girraween High School)
• Girraween High School: enrolment policy (PDF)
• NSW Department of Education: the Year 7 selective test and its practice tests
• The enrolment pages of the schools in the table above, each linked from its name