Year 5 Victoria Scholarship Specialisation
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.
Enrol NowAn estimated 1,500–2,500 Victoria 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.
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
| 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. |
ACER Cooperative
EduTest
AAS
In-house
Heads up: Dates, fees and providers change every cycle. This table reflects the 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.
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.
Term 4, starting Wednesday 14 October. Two classes a week: Scholarship Exam Prep (Saturday 11:30am) and Reading & Writing Mastery (Wednesday 7:00pm). 10 weeks of ACER-first preparation.
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.
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.
One paper, one morning, 9am start. Results shared with up to 6 nominated schools: the single most important date on the Melbourne scholarship calendar. There is no resit.
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.
Schools release results, shortlisted students are invited to interview, 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.
Beyond the curriculum, it’s the support system, the technology, and the culture that set Scholarly apart from every other option.
2 sessions per week. All classes delivered live on the Scholarly Learning Platform.
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.
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
Students recognise every Victoria question shape before test day, EduTest’s five sections, ACER’s extended responses, AAS’s two-session battery, and apply drilled reasoning routines under time pressure.
Every Victoria provider weights written expression heavily: ACER gives it two 25-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. This class runs the full length of the term, built around a genuine novel study rather than isolated exercises.
- A Genuine Novel Study A full read and study of a real, well-loved book this term, chosen for its themes and craft, not excerpts
- Building a Specific, Evidence-Backed Argument Students construct arguments about how the book uses a symbol or character to make its point, not vague generalisations
- Comprehension under timed conditions Reading strategies and speed for ACER-style and EduTest-style passages
- Narrative, persuasive & expository structures Vocabulary, inference and tone, built through weekly marked writing tasks
- ACER-style 40-minute extended responses and EduTest 15-minute sprints, both trained explicitly, with detailed feedback every week
A full novel study. Weeks 1–4 read the book in full. Weeks 5–10 turn that into writing: an essay, a creative piece with commentary, and timed practice matched to ACER and EduTest formats.
Students walk into the writing component of any Victoria scholarship paper with a tested frame and a confident voice, whether the prompt gives them 15 minutes or 40.
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
Students who reach the shortlist stage walk into the interview room prepared, articulate, and confident.
- 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
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 Victoria families. A few messages below, shared with permission, names blurred for privacy.
Messages shared with parent permission. Student names removed for privacy.
One Saturday in February decides it. 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. 10 weeks in Term 4 starting Wednesday 14 October, two classes a week on the Scholarly Learning Platform.
Enrol for Term 4