Merewether High School: Years 8 to 11 Entry Without a Placement Test

The test

None. The school says there is no placement test for these enrolments

Years accepted

Years 8 to 11, handled together in a single process

How to apply

A written application on the form the school publishes, returned directly to the school by the closing date

Who decides

A panel of the Principal and Deputy Principals, which meets in Term 3 each year

Interview

None mentioned anywhere on the school's site

Last cycle (2027 entry)

The Department's general dates: 17 June to 24 July 2026. The school's page now says applications have closed

2028 entry (applications open mid-June 2027)

Month published by Merewether High School. No closing date yet

Last checked 3 October 2026, using Merewether High School's enrolment page together with the NSW Department of Education's advice for Years 8 to 11 applicants.

For Year 7, Merewether High School sends you to the selective high schools page of the NSW Department of Education. For entry in a later year, from Year 8 up to Year 11, you apply to the school itself. Read our guide to selective school transfer to see how other NSW selective schools take in students from Year 8 onwards.

How Years 8 to 11 entry works at Merewether High School

Merewether High School has decided enrolment by academic selection since 1989, and it appears as fully selective on the NSW Department of Education's list. The school calls itself the only academically selective high school in the Hunter Region. It is at 130 Chatham St, Broadmeadow NSW 2292.

The numbered steps trace the school's enrolment page, which now says "Applications for 2027 have now closed." A few steps rest on the NSW Department of Education's rules for all selective schools, and those are marked as the Department's.

1. Check your child's year of entry. Merewether High School runs one process covering every year from 8 to 11. You apply a year ahead: the Department gives the example of applying for Year 8 while your child is in Year 7.
2. Watch for the 2028 round, which starts mid-June 2027. The school says "The 2028 application process will open mid-June 2027." Updated information and an application form will be published on its enrolment page when they become available.
3. Fill in the form the school publishes. Its page does not yet say whether that will be its own form or the Department's general one. Applying to other selective schools as well? The Department wants a separate form sent to each school, listing your schools in an identical order of preference each time.
4. Gather the documents the school suggests. They are listed under "What to include" below.
5. Return the form directly to the school by the closing date. That wording is the school's. Nothing on its page says whether to hand the form in, post it or email it, so confirm that with the school. It takes enrolment queries throughout the year on 02 4969 3855 and at merewether-h.school@det.nsw.edu.au.
6. The panel reads the applications. A panel made up of the Principal and Deputy Principals considers them. It meets in Term 3 each year, and applicants hear the outcome once the panel has made its decisions.
7. Outcomes and offers. For 2027 entry, the Department expected outcomes in September to October 2026, and successful students begin in late January 2027. An offer made by phone needs your answer, yes or no, within 24 hours, under the Department's rules.

What to include

Merewether High School's enrolment page suggests sending these with the application. It uses the word "suggest", and it does not call any item compulsory.

• a covering letter
• copies of the last two years of school reports, including the first semester of the current year
• a copy of your child's most recent NAPLAN results
• copies of recent academic awards
• a copy of your child's birth certificate
• proof of citizenship or permanent residency
• any other information that may help the panel assess your child's academic achievements

With no placement test, this bundle is how your child's academic achievements reach the Merewether High School panel.

If your child is not successful

Merewether High School keeps waiting lists, which stay current until the end of Term 1 of the following year. Its enrolment page also says a new application must be lodged each year if you want your child considered again. Separately, the NSW Department of Education allows a family to request a review of an unsuccessful result within 7 days, on the grounds that its page sets out.

Joining in Year 8 or Year 11

A student who starts at Merewether High School in Year 8 studies Japanese, which the school's languages page lists as mandatory in Year 8. For Year 11 entry, the school's subject pages list these Stage 6 courses for Years 11 and 12:

• English Standard, English Advanced, English Extension 1 and English Extension 2
• Mathematics Standard 2, Mathematics Advanced, Mathematics Extension 1 and Mathematics Extension 2
• Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Science, and Physics
• French Beginners, Japanese Beginners and Japanese Continuers

Those lists come from the school's English, mathematics, science and languages pages only, so ask Merewether High School about any other subject your child hopes to take.

Key dates

Last cycle (2027 entry) at Merewether High School

As at 3 October 2026, Merewether High School's enrolment page carries no calendar date for 2027 entry, just the line that applications have closed. Every calendar date in the table is from the NSW Department of Education's general timetable for Years 8 to 11 entry, not a date Merewether High School published. The Term 3 panel is the school's own standing practice.

Table as at 3 October 2026. Department-wide rows: the NSW Department of Education. Panel and waiting-list rows: Merewether High School's enrolment page.

2028 entry (applications open mid-June 2027)

Merewether High School has said when its next round begins: "The 2028 application process will open mid-June 2027." It will put updated information and an application form on its enrolment page when they become available. So far, as at 3 October 2026, no 2028-entry closing date or outcome date has come from the school or the NSW Department of Education, and the Department cautions that its timetable and procedures can change. Check back on the enrolment page as mid-June 2027 approaches.

The test

Merewether High School has no test for Years 8 to 11 entry: its enrolment page says "There is no placement test for these enrolments." Neither ACER's list of HAST (Higher Ability Selection Test) schools nor Edutest's client list includes Merewether High School. Its panel works from the written application and the documents sent with it.

For the tests other NSW selective schools set in Years 8 to 11, see our selective school transfer guide, which sets them out school by school.

How we prepare students for Merewether High School

There is no exam to prepare for at Merewether High School itself. Its panel assesses academic achievement, and the evidence is what your child has already done at school: the reports, NAPLAN results and academic awards the school suggests sending.

If you are unsure what to send to Merewether High School, or when its 2028 form will appear, book a short call and we will work through the school's suggested list with you.

If Merewether High School is not the only selective school on your list, some of the others may hold a test. Where one uses the HAST or the EduTest, our HAST or EduTest tutoring prepares your child for it. Each term brings ten two-hour lessons on Microsoft Teams, taught live in small groups, plus recordings of every lesson, the lesson and homework booklets, weekly homework feedback, and one full-length mock exam, reviewed in detail afterwards.

Guides for applying

• The application: what each school asks for, and how to make each part strong.
• By entry year: Year 8, Year 9, Year 10 and Year 11 entry, every school compared.

What our HAST and EduTest courses cost

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.

If your list pairs Merewether High School with a school that tests, our timetable lists this term's HAST and EduTest classes by year level. Courses and prices has the full list of what we teach, with fees.

Questions parents ask about Merewether High School entry

Will my child have to sit a test for Merewether High School?

No. In the words of Merewether High School's enrolment page, "There is no placement test for these enrolments." A panel of the Principal and Deputy Principals considers the written applications instead. Merewether High School appears on neither ACER's HAST list nor Edutest's client list.

How many places are there?

Places differ by school and by year level, with every selective school settling its own intake, so Selective Success Academy never quotes a number. At Merewether High School, the panel considers applications in Term 3 each year, and the waiting lists stay current until the end of Term 1 of the following year. To talk it over for your own child, book a short call.

When does the 2028 round open at Merewether High School?

In mid-June 2027, according to the school: "The 2028 application process will open mid-June 2027." Updated information and the application form will go on its enrolment page. On 3 October 2026, neither the school nor the Department had yet published a 2028 closing date. For 2027 entry, the Department's window was 17 June to 24 July 2026.

Is there an interview or an application fee?

On 3 October 2026, Merewether High School's website mentioned neither. Its pages say nothing about interviewing applicants, and they state no fee. Under the NSW Department of Education's process, it is the school that tells you whether a fee applies, so ask the school office once the 2028 round opens.

What if my child's application is unsuccessful?

The school keeps waiting lists, which stay current until the end of Term 1 of the following year. The NSW Department of Education also lets you seek a review in the 7 days after the result arrives, on the grounds set out on its page. To be considered in a later year, Merewether High School says you must lodge a new application each year.

Does living in Newcastle or having a sibling at the school help?

Merewether High School's website states no sibling rule and no local intake area. The NSW Department of Education says only high potential and gifted students can enrol at a fully selective school, through the selective high school application processes. Your family also has to be living in NSW when the school year of entry begins, under the Department's rules.

Sources

All sources below were read on 3 October 2026, the date this page was last checked.

• Merewether High School: Enrol
• Merewether High School: contact us
• Merewether High School: our principal and staff
• Merewether High School: school history
• Merewether High School: English
• Merewether High School: mathematics
• Merewether High School: science
• Merewether High School: languages
• NSW Department of Education: selective high schools, Years 8 to 11 applications
• NSW Department of Education: list of selective high schools
• ACER: HAST participating schools
• Edutest: client schools