Free selective test practice
Try Selective test practice free — no account, no sign-up, no payment. These are illustrative sample questions we have written in the current Selective High School format (sat in Year 6, for entry in Year 7), not real NSW past papers. Every question comes with a worked explanation, so practice actually teaches.
- 100% free
- No sign-up, no payment to practise
- 4 parts
- Reading · Maths Reasoning · Thinking Skills · Writing
- Yr 6 → 7
- Sat in Year 6, for entry in Year 7
Written and reviewed by the Hootbrook education team · Last reviewed 30 August 2026
About this free practice test
This is a free set of Selective test practice questions you can try right now — no account and no payment. The questions are illustrative exemplars our educators wrote in the current Selective High School Placement Test format. They are not real NSW past papers; the NSW Department of Education does not release recent Selective papers.
The Selective test is sat in Year 6, for entry into a selective high school in Year 7. It has four parts, all done on a computer: Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills and a typed Writing task that is marked by hand. The practice below covers all four — the first three as interactive questions with worked answers, and Writing as a sample task you complete yourself.
Free Selective practice questions
Educator-written exemplars across the three interactive parts — Reading, Mathematical Reasoning and Thinking Skills — plus a sample Writing task below. Choose an answer to see exactly how each one is worked out. These are illustrative examples in the current test format, not real NSW past papers, which are never released.
The sample questions and Writing task below are shown in English — the Selective test is sat, and written, in English.
A recipe uses 3 eggs for every 12 pancakes. How many eggs are needed to make 20 pancakes?
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.Exactly right.
Close — first work out how many pancakes one egg makes.
3 eggs make 12 pancakes, so 1 egg makes 12 ÷ 3 = 4 pancakes. To make 20 pancakes you need 20 ÷ 4 = 5 eggs. Finding the amount for one first turns most rate problems into a single division.
“By the time Maya reached the top of the hill her legs were burning and her lungs heaved, but she did not slow down. The finish line was still three streets away, and second place was not why she had trained all winter.” What does the passage most suggest about Maya?
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.Yes — well read.
Close — look at what she does, and at that last line.
Maya is in real pain but “did not slow down”, and we are told “second place was not why she had trained” — so she is aiming to win, not merely to finish. Inference questions ask you to read the clues in a character’s actions rather than wait for the text to state the answer.
Four children — Priya, Sam, Toby and Ana — ran a race. Priya finished ahead of Sam. Toby finished behind Sam but ahead of Ana. Who finished last?
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.That’s it.
Close — place them in order one clue at a time.
“Ahead” means earlier. Priya is before Sam; Sam is before Toby; Toby is before Ana. Lining those up gives the order Priya, Sam, Toby, Ana — so Ana finished last.
The mean (average) of five numbers is 14. Four of the numbers are 10, 12, 16 and 18. What is the fifth number?
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.Exactly right.
Close — start from the total of all five numbers.
If the mean of five numbers is 14, their total is 5 × 14 = 70. The four given numbers add to 10 + 12 + 16 + 18 = 56. The fifth number is 70 − 56 = 14. Turning an average back into a total is the key move.
“Another ‘improvement’ to the timetable,” Dad muttered, folding the notice in half. “I’m sure we’ll all be thrilled when the 8:15 train disappears for good.” How does Dad feel about the change?
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.Yes — you caught the tone.
Close — would someone who was pleased mutter?
The quotation marks around ‘improvement’ and the exaggerated “thrilled” are sarcasm — Dad means the opposite of what he says. Muttering, and complaining that the 8:15 will “disappear for good”, show he is really annoyed. Tone questions turn on how something is said, not only the words.
Someone argues: “We should hold the school fair on a Saturday. That way, many more parents will be able to come.” Which assumption is this argument relying on?
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.That’s it.
Close — what has to be true for the plan to work?
The argument leaps from “hold it on Saturday” to “more parents can come”. That only follows if more parents are actually free on Saturdays than on school days — an unstated assumption the argument depends on. If it were not true, the reason would fall apart.
A jacket costs $80. It is reduced by 25% in a sale. Two weeks later, the sale price is reduced by a further 10%. What is the final price?
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.Spot on.
Close — the second discount comes off the new price, not the original.
25% off $80 leaves $60 (80 × 0.75). Then 10% off $60 leaves $54 (60 × 0.9). You cannot simply add 25% + 10% = 35% to get $52 — the second discount applies to the already-reduced price, not the original $80.
“The two countries had reached an impasse: neither side would give any ground, and the talks could go no further.” In this sentence, the word “impasse” most nearly means —
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.Yes — nicely worked out.
Close — let the rest of the sentence define the word for you.
The clue is right there: “neither side would give any ground, and the talks could go no further.” That describes a deadlock — a point where no progress is possible. In vocabulary-in-context questions, the surrounding words usually explain the hard one.
Every student in the choir can read music. Jordan cannot read music. Which conclusion must be true?
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.That’s it.
Close — stick only to what the two facts force to be true.
If every choir member can read music, then anyone who cannot read music cannot be a member — so Jordan is not in the choir. This is valid reasoning. The other options add facts we were never given.
Three identical taps fill a tank in 40 minutes. How long would five taps of the same size take to fill the same tank?
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.Exactly right.
Close — more taps should mean less time, not more.
Three taps take 40 minutes, so the whole job is 3 × 40 = 120 “tap-minutes” of work. Five taps share that same work: 120 ÷ 5 = 24 minutes. Because more taps fill faster, the answer must be less than 40 — this is inverse proportion.
“Honeybees do far more than make honey. As they move from flower to flower they carry pollen with them, letting plants form seeds and fruit. Without this quiet work, many of the foods on our plates would simply vanish.” The main point of this paragraph is that —
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.Yes — that’s the main idea.
Close — which idea does most of the paragraph support?
The paragraph sets honey aside in the first line (“more than make honey”) and spends the rest explaining pollination and why it matters to our food. That is its main point. Option A is mentioned only to be moved past, so it cannot be the main idea.
A large cube has all six faces painted red. It is then cut into 27 equal small cubes (3 along each edge). How many of the small cubes have red paint on exactly two faces?
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.Impressive — that’s real spatial thinking.
Close — which small cubes sit on an edge but not a corner?
A small cube shows two painted faces only where two painted sides meet — along the edges of the big cube, but not at the corners (corners show three). A cube has 12 edges, and with three small cubes per edge, only the middle cube of each edge has exactly two painted faces: 12 × 1 = 12.
A rectangle is three times as long as it is wide. Its perimeter is 64 cm. What is its area?
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.Spot on.
Close — find the width first, using the perimeter.
Call the width w; the length is 3w. The perimeter is 2 × (w + 3w) = 8w = 64, so w = 8 cm and the length is 24 cm. The area is 8 × 24 = 192 cm². Always find the side lengths before reaching for the area.
“The old house wore its silence like a heavy coat, and every footstep in the hall sounded like an apology.” The comparisons in this sentence mainly create a feeling of —
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.Yes — you felt the mood.
Close — picture what each comparison makes you feel.
Silence worn “like a heavy coat” makes the quiet feel weighty and close, and footsteps “like an apology” suggest people feel they should not disturb it. Together the images build an uneasy, oppressive stillness — not warmth or cheer. Figurative language is chosen for the mood it creates.
Liam, Noah and Ava each own a different pet: a cat, a dog or a fish. Liam owns neither the fish nor the dog. Ava does not own the fish. Which pet does Ava own?
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.That’s it.
Close — start with the friend you know the most about.
Liam owns neither the fish nor the dog, so Liam must own the cat. That leaves the dog and the fish for Noah and Ava. Ava does not own the fish, so Ava owns the dog — and Noah owns the fish. Everything is fully determined.
In a class, ⅔ of the students walk to school. A quarter (¼) of the rest come by bus. If 3 students come by bus, how many students are in the class?
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.Exactly right.
Close — what fraction of the whole class comes by bus?
If ⅔ walk, then ⅓ of the class are “the rest”. A quarter of that third come by bus: ¼ × ⅓ = 1/12 of the whole class. If 1/12 of the class is 3 students, the class has 3 × 12 = 36 students. Check: 24 walk, 12 are the rest, and 3 of those take the bus.
“All of the paintings in the exhibition are for sale. Some of the paintings in the exhibition are by local artists.” If both statements are true, which conclusion must also be true?
Choose an answer to see how it’s worked out.That’s it.
Close — “some” means at least a few, not “all”.
Every painting in the exhibition is for sale, and some of them are by local artists — so some of the paintings for sale must be by local artists. Option A says “every”, which claims more than we are told; C reverses the statement; D contradicts it.
Sample prompt. “Write a story that begins with the line: The door had never been there yesterday.” You would plan and then type your response within the time allowed.
What markers reward in a strong response:
- • A strong opening that draws the reader in, and a real ending — not a story that simply stops.
- • A clear shape: a beginning, a rising middle and a resolution, all held together by one main idea.
- • Showing rather than only telling — specific details and images instead of a flat list of events.
- • Varied sentences and precise, well-chosen vocabulary that suit the mood of the piece.
- • Accurate spelling, punctuation and paragraphing, even under time pressure.
Writing prompts vary — a task may ask for a narrative, a persuasive or an imaginative piece, often from a short stimulus. Spending the first minute planning before you type is time well spent. This one is yours to write; no online tool can mark it for you, and that is the point.
How to get the most from practice
There are no shortcuts and no secret tricks — but there is a calm, honest way to build real familiarity across all four parts.
Read the explanation every time. The worked answer is where the learning is — even when the question was right. Understanding the method matters far more than the score.
Little and often. A few questions a day, calmly, builds familiarity and confidence far better than one long, stressful session the night before.
Practise all four parts. Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills and Writing each ask for a different kind of thinking — don’t skip the one that feels hardest.
Do the writing for real. The Writing task is typed and timed. Plan for a minute, then write a full, structured response — no tool can grade this for your child, so practising it themselves is the point.
Talk it through. Ask your child to explain, in their own words, why an answer is right. If they can teach it back to you, they truly understand it.
Keep it low-pressure. Practice is for familiarity, not judgement. A relaxed child learns more — wellbeing comes first, every time.
A note on honesty
These questions are illustrative exemplars our educators wrote in the current Selective High School format — they are not real NSW past papers. The NSW Department of Education does not release recent Selective test papers, so be wary of anyone selling “real past papers”. Practice like this builds familiarity and confidence with the format; it is not coaching, and no practice can promise a place. The NSW Department of Education does not endorse or recommend coaching.
Keep exploring
This page is for hands-on practice. For the full picture — what the test is, how it is marked, and how the OC and NAPLAN tests differ — start here.
Free Selective practice — frequently asked
Is this Selective practice test really free?
Yes. You can try the sample questions on this page with no account, no sign-up and no payment. If you would like a full adaptive check of your child’s level afterwards, the free assessment is also free to start.
What year is the Selective test sat in?
Students sit the Selective High School Placement Test in Year 6, for entry into a selective high school in Year 7. Applications are made online during Year 6.
What is on the Selective test?
Four parts, all done on a computer: Reading, Mathematical Reasoning, Thinking Skills and a typed Writing task. The multiple-choice sections are marked automatically; the Writing task is marked by hand.
Are these real Selective past papers?
No. The NSW Department of Education does not release recent Selective test papers, so be wary of anyone selling ‘real past papers’. Every question here is written by our educators in the current test format — so your child practises the real format, not a leak.
Will practice guarantee my child a place?
No honest resource can promise a place — entry is competitive and decided by an overall placement score that varies from school to school and year to year. What practice can do is build familiarity and confidence with the format, so test day feels less unfamiliar. The NSW Department of Education does not endorse or recommend coaching.
How is this different from the full Selective guide?
This page is for hands-on practice — sample questions with worked explanations. The full Selective guide explains what the test is, when it is held and how to prepare. They are meant to be used together.
Ready to see where your child stands?
The sample questions are free to try, right here. When you want a fuller picture, the free assessment finds your child’s real level across every part of the Selective test — no payment to start.