An essential introduction to private school scholarship exams.
One Saturday in February decides most of the Melbourne scholarship landscape. The ACER Cooperative sitting, Saturday 27 February 2027, is one shared exam covering up to 6 schools at once, and it is the main exam for most of Melbourne’s top independents. This course prepares Year 5 students for that one defining morning first, with full coverage of EduTest, AAS and school-specific papers alongside, for Year 7 2028 entry.
Inside the Year 5 Scholarship Specialisation
One Saturday. One exam. Up to 6 schools.
The ACER Cooperative Scholarship Test is the main exam in Victoria: 19 of the 34 Melbourne private schools we track (56%) use it, including Scotch, Melbourne Grammar, Xavier, PLC, Wesley, Caulfield, St Kevin’s, Lauriston, St Catherine’s and Ballarat Clarendon. It runs once, on Saturday 27 February 2027, and one sitting is shared with up to 6 schools. There is no resit and no second chance in the cycle. Your current Year 5 child sits it at the start of Year 6, for Year 7 2028 entry. The preparation year is Year 5, right now.
An estimated 1,500-2,500 Victorian candidates sit the February ACER Cooperative each year, competing for the largest scholarship pool in the state. The rest of the landscape: EduTest runs per-school sittings at 9 schools (Haileybury, Brighton Grammar, Carey, Ruyton, Fintona and others) through late January and February, and AAS covers Genazzano (12 Feb 2027), Camberwell Grammar and Trinity. We prepare ACER first, and cover EduTest and AAS explicitly alongside.
For students needing help or facing difficulty in:
Exam Format Mastery
Adapting to unique EduTest, ACER and AAS exam structures. Balancing knowledge application and problem-solving under time constraints. Enhancing written expression skills: originality, relevance, fluency, and grammar.
Reasoning Skills Development
Improving abstract reasoning: matrices, series, and spatial reasoning. Strengthening verbal reasoning: synonyms, antonyms, and odd-one-out tasks. Expanding vocabulary and its contextual use.
Writing Proficiency
Crafting engaging narratives and responding creatively to open-ended prompts. Developing persuasive writing techniques and argument presentation.
Exam Strategies
Enhancing speed reading while maintaining comprehension. Mastering multiple-choice question approaches across EduTest and AAS papers, and the 15-minute EduTest writing sprint that can sink an otherwise strong score.
Interview Preparation included. For students who reach the shortlist stage: effectively communicating personal values and experiences, and developing articulation and maturity in responses. The interview is where scholarships are finalised, and most students have never done one.
Two very different exams. Two very different preparation strategies.
Almost every Melbourne scholarship family ends up dealing with both providers. They do not reward the same preparation, and knowing the difference changes how you spend the next seven months.
ACER Cooperative
- One shared sitting, Saturday 27 February 2027, results go to up to 6 schools
- Paper-based, ~3 hours, no calculators
- Reasoning and critical thinking, deliberately NOT curriculum-based
- Written Expression: two 25-minute tasks, the heaviest writing load of any provider
- Humanities / comprehension: 40-45 questions in 40 minutes
- Mathematics: 32-36 questions in 40 minutes
- ~$140-160 covers the whole Cooperative sitting
EduTest
- One sitting per school, late January – February 2027, $95-120 each
- Online or paper, ~2.5-3 hours, no calculators
- Curriculum-aligned plus ability, mixes achievement and reasoning
- Five papers: verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, reading comprehension, mathematics (~30 questions / 30 minutes each)
- One short 15-minute essay, one weak paragraph can sink it
- Used by Haileybury, Brighton Grammar, Carey, Ruyton, Fintona, Camberwell Girls, Loreto Mandeville Hall and more
AAS sits between the two. Reasoning-heavy but curriculum-shaped, used by Genazzano (12 Feb 2027), Camberwell Grammar and Trinity. Our two-class system covers all three providers: the Saturday class drills reasoning, mathematics and timing across every format, and the Wednesday class builds the writing depth that ACER weights most heavily, two 25-minute tasks, and that EduTest compresses into a 15-minute sprint.
Two classes. Two job descriptions.
Scholarship exams reward two different muscles: drilled reasoning under time pressure, and written expression with depth and control. We grow them in different rooms, one class for each, every week.
Scholarship Exam Prep
Provider-aligned drills, timing and strategy across every reasoning paper. This is the class that makes ACER, EduTest and AAS question shapes feel familiar before test day.
- Verbal & Numerical Reasoning (EduTest / AAS)
- Reading & Viewing strategies (ACER) and Comprehension (EduTest)
- Mathematics, curriculum-plus and speed
- Higher-order thinking / problem solving (ACER)
- Mock papers in the final weeks, marked and reviewed
Reading & Writing Mastery
Every Victorian provider weights written expression heavily: ACER gives it two 40-minute tasks, AAS gives it a dedicated session, and EduTest’s 15-minute sprint is short enough that one weak paragraph can sink the score. Most programs barely touch it. This class runs the full length of the program.
- Narrative, persuasive & expository structures
- Comprehension under timed conditions
- Vocabulary, inference & tone
- Weekly marked writing tasks, detailed feedback every week
- ACER-style 40-minute extended responses and EduTest 15-minute sprints, both trained explicitly
Interview skills for shortlisted students
Scholarship offers are finalised at interview, and most Year 5 students have never done one. We provide guidance on interview skills, helping students confidently express their values and experiences during scholarship interviews.
- Communicating personal values and experiences effectively and naturally
- Developing articulation and maturity in responses
- Common interview questions and how top schools structure their interviews
- Presentation and confidence, first impressions, body language, conversation flow
Popular Melbourne scholarships, grouped by exam.
Of the 34 Melbourne private schools we track: ACER covers 19 (56%), EduTest 9 (26%), AAS 3 (9%), and 5 run in-house papers (15%). One ACER Cooperative sitting covers up to 6 of your target schools at once; EduTest and AAS are one sitting per school. All dates below are the 2027 sittings for Year 7 2028 entry.
| Exam | Schools | 2027 sitting (2028 entry) |
|---|---|---|
| ACER Cooperative One shared sitting · 19 schools |
Scotch College, Melbourne Grammar, PLC, Xavier, St Kevin’s, Wesley, Caulfield Grammar, MLC (some categories), Lauriston, Huntingtower, Korowa, St Catherine’s, Ballarat Clarendon, Loreto Ballarat, Sacré Cœur, Toorak College, Kilvington and more | Sat 27 Feb 2027, one paper, results shared with up to 6 schools. St Kevin’s runs its own ACER sit in early May 2027. |
| EduTest Per-school sittings · 9 schools |
Haileybury (all campuses), Brighton Grammar, Carey Baptist Grammar, Ruyton, Fintona, Camberwell Girls Grammar, Loreto Mandeville Hall, Trinity (music), MLC (some categories) | Late Jan – Feb 2027, one sitting per school ($95-120 each). Haileybury Academic typically tests June 2027. |
| AAS Per-school sittings · 3 schools |
Genazzano FCJ, Camberwell Grammar, Trinity Grammar (academic) | Feb 2027. Genazzano confirmed Fri 12 Feb 2027 (applications close ~6 Feb). Trinity ~20 Feb 2027. |
| In-house School-specific · 5 schools |
Bialik College, Mount Scopus, The King David School, Ivanhoe Grammar, Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar | School-specific, confirm with each registrar. Ivanhoe’s academic round opens Aug 2027, a useful late safety net. |
Heads up: Dates, fees and providers change every cycle. This table reflects the July 2026 guide data for 2028-entry rounds; always confirm directly with each school’s registrar before relying on a date. Want our full Melbourne scholarship calendar? We send it with every enrolment.
Counting down to Saturday 27 February 2027.
The Melbourne cycle for 2028 entry: applications open Term 4 2026, deadlines close late January to mid-February 2027, and the main ACER Cooperative sitting lands on one Saturday morning. Here is the runway your Year 5 child is on.
Year 5 Victorian Scholarship Specialisation runs
Term 3, starting Week 2 (Wednesday 29 July). Two classes a week: Scholarship Exam Prep (Saturday 11:30am) and Reading & Writing Mastery (Wednesday 7:00pm). 9 weeks of ACER-first preparation, with Term 4 continuation available.
Registrations open, shortlist your 6
Most schools open 2028 scholarship applications and publish exam dates between October and December 2026. ACER Cooperative registration opens around September-October 2026, register early and nominate up to 6 ACER schools off the one sitting. Melbourne Grammar’s 2028 applications are already open.
Application windows close
The competitive schools’ windows close between late January and mid-February 2027 (Xavier ~30 Jan, PLC ~31 Jan pattern), even though Year 7 doesn’t start until January 2028. Missing a deadline means missing the scholarship entirely. EduTest and AAS per-school sits begin, Genazzano tests Fri 12 Feb 2027.
ACER Cooperative sitting
One paper, one morning, 9am start. Results shared with up to 6 nominated schools: the single most important date on the Melbourne scholarship calendar. An estimated 1,500-2,500 Victorian candidates sit it. There is no resit.
The stragglers
A handful of schools test after the main window: Trinity AAS ~20 Feb, St Kevin’s runs its own ACER sit in early May 2027, and Haileybury’s Academic exam typically lands in June 2027. Preparation built for February carries straight through.
Shortlists, interviews, and offers
Schools release results, shortlisted students are invited to interview (music auditions and sport trials run in parallel), and offers for Year 7 2028 are issued from March through August 2027. This is where the interview preparation component of the course pays off.
Why start in Term 3 2026? ACER is the hardest exam to cram, it rewards reading depth, reasoning and writing built over months. Term 3 covers the essential foundations while applications are still open; Term 4 continuation carries preparation to the summer break, right before the one February morning that decides the ACER half of the Melbourne landscape.
The messages we receive every scholarship season.
Every scholarship season, the WhatsApp and WeChat messages arrive from Scholarly families across Australia: Sydney Grammar, King’s, Shore, Knox, Reddam, Trinity and more. The same preparation system now comes to Victorian families. A few messages below, shared with permission, names blurred for privacy.
Messages shared with parent permission. Student names removed for privacy.
Motivation, expertise, and 360° support.
The High School Advanced Program isn’t just classes. It’s a complete environment of motivation, expert teaching, and wrap-around support that turns capable students into top performers.
Motivation
Challenges & Awards keep momentum high; every milestone earns points, badges, and prizes that actually matter to teens.
Expertise
Top-ATAR graduate tutors model elite thinking and mentor your child beyond the syllabus.
Percentile Reports & Detailed Feedback
Pinpoint gaps fast with rubric-aligned writing feedback and percentile rankings across all subjects.
7-Day Helpline
WhatsApp, WeChat, Scholarly Ask, phone, answers within 24 hours, every day of the week.
Live Sessions, Motivated Cohort
All sessions are live on the Scholarly Learning Platform, designed to be experienced in real time with full focus. Enrolment offers a unique chance for your child to develop alongside a cohort of motivated peers, guided by exceptional educators.
What the week looks like
Writing structures, comprehension, vocabulary, weekly marked tasks
Reasoning, mathematics, comprehension, timing, mock papers
Weekly homework tasks aligned with each class, tracked through the Scholarly Learning Platform. 7-day Success Coach support via WhatsApp and WeChat for questions outside class time.
A competitive edge for the February 2027 scholarship window.
9 weeks in Term 3, starting Week 2 (29 July). Two classes a week, 2 hours total, both on the Scholarly Learning Platform. Every component of EduTest, ACER, AAS, and school-specific scholarship exams covered: formats, reasoning, writing, comprehension, strategy, and interview preparation. Term 4 continuation available.
- 18 live sessions across two weekly classes
- Scholarship Exam Prep, Saturday 11:30am – 12:30pm
- Reading & Writing Mastery, Wednesday 7:00 – 8:00pm
- Exam format mastery, EduTest, ACER & AAS structures
- Abstract & verbal reasoning development
- Narrative & persuasive writing proficiency
- Reading comprehension & exam strategies
- Interview preparation for shortlisted students
- Weekly homework with detailed feedback
- 7-day Success Coach support
Common Questions
One Saturday in February decides it. Start preparing now.
The ACER Cooperative sitting, Saturday 27 February 2027, is one shared morning covering up to 6 schools, and it is the hardest exam to cram. 9 weeks in Term 3 starting Wednesday 29 July, two classes a week on the Scholarly Learning Platform, with Term 4 continuation available.