12 months. One test.
Every advantage matters.
The NSW Selective test is May 2027. Year 5 is the critical preparation year. Five live online classes per week covering all four test components — Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills, and Writing. 50 sessions per term.
Starting in Year 5 gives your child 4 full terms of preparation.
The NSW Selective test is May 2027. Most families don’t start serious preparation until Year 6 Term 1, when they immediately get buried in trial tests with no time to build the underlying skills. By starting in Year 5 Term 2, your child gets 200 sessions of dedicated skill-building before trial tests even begin.
The test covers four components: Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills, and Writing. Each demands a different cognitive skillset. Five live classes per week, 50 sessions per term, all four components covered systematically.
The gap between “talented but underprepared” and “skilled and exam-ready” is built in Year 5. Students who arrive at Year 6 with genuine capability, not just familiarity with the format, score higher and score more consistently.
Sound familiar?
“They read well but can’t answer inference questions”
Your child reads fluently. They enjoy books. But the Selective test doesn’t ask “what happened.” It asks “why did the author use this metaphor?” and “what does this imply about the character’s motivation?” Inference, author’s purpose, and evaluative comprehension are entirely different skills from reading fluency. We teach them explicitly.
“Strong in maths at school but struggles with word problems”
School maths tests bare calculations. The Selective test wraps every question in 3-4 lines of language with irrelevant information mixed in. Your child needs to translate English into equations, filter distractors, and solve multi-step problems under time pressure. We drill this every session.
“Their writing doesn’t reflect their intelligence”
They’re bright, articulate, and full of ideas. But their written work is flat, repetitive, and structurally weak. The Selective Writing section requires narrative OR persuasive writing with sophisticated vocabulary, deliberate structure, and a distinctive voice. We build all three systematically.
“We don’t even know where to start with Thinking Skills”
Critical reasoning, logical deduction, spatial reasoning, numerical reasoning. These are never taught at school. The Thinking Skills section makes up a full quarter of the Selective test. Most students encounter it for the first time in a trial test. We teach all four pillars from Year 5 with named techniques and systematic drilling.
Trial tests alone don’t build skills. Doing more questions at a level your child can’t access doesn’t build the ability to access that level. You can’t “practice” your way to Year 8 comprehension at Year 5 reading level. The Mid-Year Semester builds the bridge.
Five sessions per week. All four Selective test components.
Reading Comprehension
Fiction inference, poetry analysis, non-fiction comprehension, and cloze passages at Selective difficulty. Students learn to identify author’s purpose, distinguish literal from inferential meaning, evaluate arguments, and decode unfamiliar vocabulary using morphemic analysis. All four Selective reading formats practised weekly.
Narrative & Persuasive Writing
Narrative craft: show don’t tell, sensory detail, dialogue, pacing, and structural sophistication. Persuasive writing: PEEL paragraphs, thesis construction, counterargument, and rhetorical devices. Both modes practised under timed conditions with detailed feedback on every piece.
Mathematical Reasoning & Critical Thinking
Advanced word problems, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratios, algebra, geometry, and data interpretation. All questions in Selective format: multi-step, language-heavy, with distractors. Thinking Skills: critical reasoning (P-C-E framework), logical deduction (grid elimination), spatial reasoning, and numerical reasoning across all four pillars.
Full Trial Tests & Personalised Analysis
Weekly full-length Selective-format trial tests under real exam conditions. Personalised sub-topic breakdowns after every test. Error pattern analysis: which question types cost marks? Which techniques were forgotten? Building exam stamina from 30 minutes to the full 150-minute test duration.
See what a Selective Prep class looks like
Watch real lesson extracts so you know exactly what your child will experience — live instruction, real-time interaction, and genuine skill-building in action.
Apps, support, and everything your child needs
Readly
Adaptive reading comprehension
Writely
Structured writing tasks
Vocably
Contextual vocabulary building
Mathly
Targeted maths practice
Weekly Homework
5 tasks per week with detailed feedback
Success Coach
Monthly parent strategy calls + 7-day helpline
Progress Reports
Percentile tracking across all 4 components
The preparation your child deserves.
100 sessions across 2 terms. Five classes per week. All four selective test components. Monthly parent strategy sessions included.
- 100 live online sessions (50/term)
- 5 classes/week: English + Maths/TSA + Writing + Trial Test P1 + P2
- 5 weekly homework tasks + vocab lists
- Readly, Writely, Vocably & Mathly apps
- Monthly parent strategy calls with Success Coach
- Everything in Mid-Year Semester
- + 50 additional sessions (Term 4)
- FREE Scholarship Prep add-on (ACER/AAS)
- Monthly parent strategy calls continue
- 2 free private coaching sessions
- 150 total sessions across 3 terms
Payment plans available. Two equal instalments at the same total price.
Common Questions
This is the year that matters most.
The selective test is one shot. No redo. No appeal. The preparation you choose in Year 5 determines where your child spends the next 6 years. Don’t let them enter that exam with a Year 3 brain.