This free practice test, written by Selective Success Academy, has 9 maths questions where your child types each answer, checked on the spot with worked answers, and a creative writing prompt. It suits students preparing for the Normanhurst Boys High School and Sydney Boys High School entrance exams for Year 8 and 9 entry. No sign-up.
9 maths questions, from easy to hard, where you type each answer, and 1 creative writing prompt. No calculator is needed.
Read this original poem, written for this test:
The Last Ferry
The last ferry leaves at a quarter to nine,
its lamps on the harbour strung out like a line.
A girl at the railing holds tight to her case
and studies the dark as if learning a face.
Behind her the city goes quiet and small,
the wharf and the streetlights, the clock on the wall,
and somewhere ahead, where the black water bends,
a jetty, a lantern, the place the trip ends.
Write a narrative inspired by this line from the poem: "and studies the dark as if learning a face." Allow about 25 to 30 minutes.
What our markers look for
Self-check
Normanhurst Boys High School describes its Years 8 to 11 test as "an entry test in Literacy and Numeracy", conducted at the school (enrolment page, read 1 October 2026). Sydney Boys High School assesses written applications first, then sets "a range of literacy and numeracy tasks" for the applicants it short-lists, with a general ability science test for Year 11 applicants (enrolment information, read 1 October 2026). Neither school publishes past papers or the format of its questions.
Our questions are written by Selective Success Academy, drawing on our experience preparing students for both exams. They are practice material, not past papers. Read more in our Normanhurst Boys High School entrance exam guide, our Sydney Boys High School entrance exam guide and the two compared.
For a full sitting at home, our mock exam papers are full-length papers in the style of these exams, with solutions, and optional marking by our tutors.
No. Selective Success Academy wrote every question. We know of no official past paper for either exam, and neither school publishes its questions.
From our experience, these exams are not multiple choice: students write their working and answers. Typing an answer is closer to that than picking from a list.
Neither school publishes a calculator rule. These questions need no calculator, and practising without one means your child is ready either way.
It is written for Year 8 and 9 entry. Older students can use it as a warm-up. Sydney Boys High School also gives Year 11 applicants a general ability science test.
Preparing for Normanhurst Boys High School or Sydney Boys High School? Book a short call with Ilia, or let your child try a class first.
