When is the NSW Selective School Test in 2025?

Updated: 30 July 2024

In 2025, both the NSW Selective Test and the OC Test will take place between 2-4 May 2025. This is a slight change from 2024 and previous years, where each test was held on a single day only, with the Selective Test usually being held in May and the OC Test usually being held in July/August.

A make-up test will take place on 19 May 2025 for students that are unable to sit the tests during the main window and have an approved illness or misadventure request.

Application dates have also changed, as the application window will now take place between 7 November 2024 and 21 February 2025 for both the Selective Test and the OC Test.

Test outcomes and offers will be released in Term 3, 2025.

The test structure will remain the same for both the Selective Test (Reading, Maths, Thinking Skills, Writing) and the OC Test (Reading, Maths, Thinking Skills). However, the big change for both tests in 2025 is the move from a paper-based test to a computer-based test.

The computer-based test will particularly affect the Writing component of the Selective Test, as students will need to type their responses instead of writing them by hand.

Another consequence of the move to a computer-based test is that there will actually be multiple versions of the Selective Test and the OC Test. This means that not all students will take the exact same test, though it should be expected that each version will be similar in terms of difficulty.

The computer-based tests will be administered by Janison Solutions, with Cambridge University Press & Assessment having input on the test design and content.

It should be noted that Janison also administers the ICAS tests. If your child has sat the ICAS test at one of Jamison’s JEM test centres, then the selective test should be run in a similar manner.