Academically selective enrolment

You are invited to attend the Enrichment and Selective Information evening on Monday 30 October, 2023 in the school library.

Academically selective enrolment

Students seeking enrolment in the Year 7 selective stream (60 places at both Balmain and Leichhardt Campuses) must apply through the High Performing Students Unit and sit the Selective High School Entry Tests held in March each year. Information packages and application forms can be found at the Year 7 NSW Selective Schools Placement Website

A limited number of places in the selective streams in Years 8-10 at Balmain and Leichhardt, and Years 11-12 at Blackwattle Bay may be available each year. Entry is by application.

To obtain DET information packages and application forms for Year 8 - 12 Selective High School enrolment, go to the Selective Schools Placement 8-12 Website

Appeals for review of selective school panel decisions

Under the following conditions, parents can request that the principal of the selective high school reviews the selection committee's decision not to place the student at their school:

Even if the parents made applications to two or three selective high schools the review must be directed only to the principal of one of the three selective high schools the parents chose.
The request for review must be in writing; emailed, faxed or posted to the school.
The request for review must be received by the selective high school within seven (7) days of the date on which the outcome of the parent's application to that school was sent.

A request for a review will generally be considered valid if made on one of the following grounds:

The selection committee did not follow its own published criteria
Something unforeseen and beyond the parent's or the student's control occurred to compromise the student's performance in the test (if relevant) provided that the event is not listed below.

A request for a review will generally not be considered valid if made on the following grounds:

Disruption to schooling for reasons other than a medical condition affecting the student.The request for a review will not be granted on the basis that the family travelled overseas during the assessment period or that they moved to another residence.
Anxiety or depression or any other long-term illness or condition which affected the child's performance either in school or on the day of the test (if relevant)[1].
Incomplete documentation. It is the parent's responsibility to provide all relevant documentary evidence at the time of application.
The parent's belief that another student who was successful for entry to that selective high school is considered to be performing at a lower level in classwork[2].

Parents will be notified either that their request for a review is invalid or about the outcome of their request within 14 days of submitting the request.

[1]While it is acknowledged that anxiety, depression and other long-term illnesses or conditions can affect a student's ability to show academic merit, there is little a selection committee can do to predict how well a student would have performed without such a condition.

[2]The process for selective high school entry in Years 8 to 12 ranks students in the candidature on a variety of measures including the basis of their documentary evidence of academic merit, and/or testing and/or interviews. It is possible for a student to rank differently in this process from the way they rank in class.

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Sydney Secondary College Balmain Campus

Academically selective enrolment