Getting Into North Sydney Boys High School in Years 8 to 11

The test

EduTest

Years of entry, last cycle

Years 8, 9, 10 and 11

How to apply

An EduTest registration, plus any form the school asks for

Last cycle's test, 2027 entry

Saturday 15 August 2026

2028 entry (exams in August 2027)

No dates published yet

Last checked 1 October 2026 against North Sydney Boys High School's enrolment page, Edutest and the NSW Department of Education.

How Years 8 to 11 entry works at North Sydney Boys High School

North Sydney Boys High School is a fully selective boys' school at 127 Falcon Street, North Sydney. Year 7 applications go to the NSW Department of Education, not the school. For a later year, your son applies to the school itself, and the school uses the EduTest. The school notes that its enrolment policy is largely determined by the Department's Selective Schools Unit.

This is how the last cycle ran, for 2027 entry. Those applications have closed, so the school's enrolment page no longer shows a form or a registration link. Check it again when the next round opens.

1. Work out which year your son is applying for. Last cycle the school took applications for entry to Years 8 to 11. You apply the year before entry, so a boy in Year 8 applies for Year 9 entry (NSW Department of Education).
2. Find out which application the school uses. The Department asks families to check each school's website to see whether it uses its own online form or the Department's general form. North Sydney Boys High School's page showed neither on 1 October 2026, because the 2027-entry round had closed.
3. Register with Edutest for North Sydney Boys High School. Edutest says you must submit a separate registration to each EduTest school you want to consider your son. Each school sets its own registration fee, paid online when you register. The school's page does not show a fee at present. If you made an Edutest account before 1 July 2026, Edutest asks you to create a new one with the same email address.
4. Attach the documents. On 1 October 2026 North Sydney Boys High School's page listed no documents of its own, so plan on the Department's minimum: a copy of your son's birth certificate, citizenship or passport with every application, plus any form the school later asks for.
5. Look out for Edutest's email. The school says applicants who registered successfully receive confirmation of the examination process from Edutest by email.
6. Sit the EduTest. Last cycle it was held on Saturday 15 August 2026 in AF Henry Hall at the school. Boys were due at 8:45am to register. The test began at 9:00am and finished at about 12:00pm. Each boy needed photo ID (the school lists a current school photo, a library card or a passport as acceptable), two lead pencils and a black or blue pen. No calculators are permitted.
7. Interview. The school's enrolment page does not mention an interview, as at 1 October 2026.
8. The outcome. As the Department sets out, a selection committee judges each application on academic performance, both in the application and, where used, in the test. Under the Department's process, the school can then offer your son entry, add him to its reserve list, or tell you the application was unsuccessful. The Department's timeline for last cycle has outcomes released in September to October 2026, and successful applicants starting in late January 2027.

Applying to more than one school. You can apply to up to three selective high schools, under the NSW Department of Education's procedures. Each school needs its own application, and the Department asks you to rank the schools in the same order on every form. James Ruse Agricultural High School and Baulkham Hills High School also use the EduTest. Edutest says the selective schools have their own results transfer process, set out in the special conditions on each school's registration site, so read those conditions before you register.

Our selective school transfer guide sets out how Years 8 to 11 entry works at the other NSW selective schools.

Key dates

The last round: 2027 entry (exams in August 2026)

North Sydney Boys High School published its own test date, venue and times. The application dates below are the NSW Department of Education's dates for Years 8 to 11 entry; the school's page no longer shows its own.

As at 1 October 2026.

Next: 2028 entry (exams in August 2027)

No dates have been published. As at 1 October 2026, the school's enrolment page carries only 2027-entry information, the NSW Department of Education lists only last cycle's key dates, and Edutest's list of testing dates shows no NSW school. The Department notes that dates and procedures can change, so check the school's enrolment page regularly for the next round.

Open mornings

The school holds Enrolment Open Mornings in March and November, for all students considering enrolment. The next one on its enrolment page is Tuesday 17 November 2026, which the school lists among its open mornings "for 2027 enrolments". You register through the school's enrolment page.

The test

North Sydney Boys High School uses the EduTest, run by Edutest Pty Ltd, an independent testing organisation. The school lists five sections, Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics and Written Expression, and says each is 30 minutes long; Edutest's selective page adds 5 minutes of planning time for Written Expression.

Our EduTest guide explains each section, how the test is marked and how preparation changes by year level.

How we prepare students for North Sydney Boys High School

Boys aiming for North Sydney Boys High School join our EduTest course. It is small-group tutoring and exam coaching, taught live on Microsoft Teams: 10 weekly lessons of two hours each across a term, covering all five sections of the test. The lesson and homework booklets, vocabulary lists and exam strategies are written by Selective Success Academy for this test. They are practice material, not past papers.

Three details from the school's own instructions are worth building into your son's practice:

• No calculator. The school permits none, so Mathematics and Numerical Reasoning are best practised by hand from the start.
• Pencil and answer sheet. The school asks for two lead pencils. Edutest asks students to shade bubbles on the answer sheet rather than circle answers in the booklet, and it cannot adjust answers entered in the wrong position.
• A plan before the writing. Written Expression is one of the five sections, and Edutest gives 5 minutes of planning time for it. In our course, your son's writing comes back marked, with feedback.

The school points families to the online practice tests sold on Edutest's website. They are a sensible start, but Edutest says they have fewer questions than the real test, are not timed and include no writing task. Our EduTest mock exams are full-length papers in the style of the real test, sat under timed conditions, with feedback on the writing task when you choose marking. We also have EduTest practice questions with worked answers.

If your son is applying for Year 11 entry, one more detail from the school is worth knowing: its students in Years 11 and 12 study English at the Advanced level.

EduTest class times are on the timetable. If none suits, you can request a different class time there, and we can often organise one.

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 it 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.

Our students at North Sydney Boys High School

As at 23 September 2026, Selective Success Academy students have received offers to North Sydney Boys High School. In total, our students have received 80+ selective school offers. See our students' results.

This school is part of our own story too. Ilia, who founded Selective Success Academy and is its head tutor, missed out on selective school at first. He then entered North Sydney Boys High School by lateral transfer and went on to become a North Sydney Boys High School Dux. He finished school with a 99.90 ATAR and now studies Medicine at UNSW. The Sydney Morning Herald featured his story in April 2026.

Rated 5/5 from 90+ parent reviews

Questions parents ask about North Sydney Boys High School entry

Which test does North Sydney Boys High School use for Years 8 to 11 entry?

The EduTest. The school's enrolment page says applicants who registered with Edutest receive confirmation of the examination process from Edutest by email, and Edutest lists the school among its client schools. Year 7 entry is a separate process, run by the NSW Department of Education rather than the school.

How many places are there?

They differ by year level, and North Sydney Boys High School decides its own. The NSW Department of Education says vacancies depend on student departures and each school is different, and it asks families to contact the schools about vacancies. The school has published nothing yet for the next round, and we never quote a figure. Book a short call and we can talk through your son's options.

When do applications for 2028 entry open?

No date has been published. As at 1 October 2026, the school's enrolment page covers only last cycle, and the NSW Department of Education lists only last cycle's dates. Last cycle, the Department's application dates were 17 June to 24 July 2026, and the school's EduTest was on Saturday 15 August 2026.

What does my son need on test day?

Last cycle the school asked each boy to bring photo ID, two lead pencils and a black or blue pen. It lists a current school photo, a library card or a passport as acceptable ID. No calculators are permitted. The test ran from 9:00am to about 12:00pm in AF Henry Hall, with arrival at 8:45am to register.

We live interstate or overseas. Can my son still sit the test?

Yes, through Edutest's remote testing. The school asks overseas and interstate applicants to email remote@edutest.com.au as soon as they have registered. Last cycle the school's deadline was two weeks before its test date, while Edutest's own page says three weeks, so ask by the earlier one. The NSW Department of Education also says your son and your family must be living in NSW by the beginning of the school year of entry.

Is North Sydney Boys High School the same as Sydney Boys High School?

No. They are two different schools with different entry processes. North Sydney Boys High School, in North Sydney, uses the EduTest. Sydney Boys High School tests only the applicants it short-lists, with a range of literacy and numeracy tasks it sets itself, and it is not on Edutest's list of client schools. See our Sydney Boys High School entrance exam guide.

Sources

We read each source below on 1 October 2026.

• North Sydney Boys High School: enrolment
• North Sydney Boys High School: contact us
• North Sydney Boys High School: high potential and gifted education
• NSW Department of Education: Years 8 to 11 applications
• NSW Department of Education: list of selective high schools
• NSW Department of Education: selective high schools and opportunity class procedures
• Edutest: for parents
• Edutest: registering
• Edutest: client schools
• Edutest: selective entry high schools
• Edutest: information about the tests
• Edutest: practice tests
• Edutest: remote testing
• Edutest: parent registration site
• Edutest: testing dates
• Sydney Boys High School: enrolment information