Sydney Boys High School - Enrolment Policy - Years 8-12

Preamble

The Enrolment Policy of Sydney Boys High School was drafted originally in 2001 by a School Community Committee and ratified by the School Council. It is reviewed annually. The policy explains the process by which students gain entry into Sydney Boys High School. The Year 7 process for enrolment differs from the process used to fill vacancies in other year groups.

The latest version of the Enrolment Policy was ratified by the School Council at its meeting held on 13 May 2025.

Enrolment Limits

An enrolment ceiling for each year was set as follows:

Years 7 and 8 (180 per Year)
Years 9 and 10 (210 per Year)
Years 11 and 12 (216 per Year)

The maximum possible enrolment is 1212 students.

Residency Requirements

Applicants must be Australian or New Zealand citizens or holders of a "visa granting permanent resident status" in Australia. Proof of citizenship/residency must be provided. Parents must be living in NSW by the beginning of the school year. Proof of NSW residency must also be provided. Conditions may apply to students who are not citizens or permanent residents of Australia or citizens of New Zealand. Review the conditions at: .

School Context

Sydney Boys High School is an academically strong, single sex government school. It caters for the needs of gifted students. It is a member of the Athletic Association of the Great Public Schools - AAGPS or GPS as it is referred to. The GPS relationship since 1906 includes participation in sporting competitions held after school hours, principally on Saturdays and Friday nights.

Prospective applicants should be aware that our strong expectation is that boys will participate in competitive team sports. Students are expected to compete in a minimum of two sports each year that have Friday night or Saturday competitive fixtures.

Years 8-12 Enrolment

Applications for places in Selective Schools for Years 8-11 open in the media from late June each year. Each school has its own policy in respect of filling occasional vacancies. Sydney Boys High has its own expanded Application Form. It is strongly recommended that applicants download and use a form below or collect one from the school.

All applications are subject to the .

Enrolment Applications for 2026 are now closed.
Application forms for Years 8, 9, 10 and 11 2027 will be available from mid-June 2026.

Vacancies

Prospective applicants should be aware that:

For Year 8 there are historically very few, if any, vacancies.
For Year 9, up to 30 places and vacancies, if any, may be offered, subject to applicants satisfying the selection criteria.
For Year 10, there are historically very few, if any, vacancies.
For Year 11, up to 6 places and vacancies, if any, may be offered, subject to applicants satisfying the selection criteria.
Sydney Boys High School does not accept enrolments into Year 12.

The Application and Selection Process - Years 8 - 12

Please complete the application form, but before doing so, please read page six of the form which contains examples of information that may be included in support of your application. Supply a copy of each of your last two School Reports. Do not supply any other documents. If you are selected for interview you will then be required to support your claims with appropriate evidence. Return your application to the school, accompanied by a payment of $105 to cover administration costs, processing and assessment of applications.

Applications for 2026 enrolments will open on Friday 13 June 2025 and close on Friday 25 July 2025 at 3:00pm. The Sydney Boys High School Placement Tests for short-listed applicants will be held on Monday 11 August at 4:30pm, in the School鈥檚 Great Hall. Short-listed applicants will be notified by email.

Applications received by mail or in person will not be accepted after this date or time.

Selection Criteria

Students selected for enrolment at SBHS are expected to support and enhance the ethos of the school in its pursuit of academic excellence, through its competition in the AAGPS and by participation in a range of co-curricular activities. The Selection Committee considers:

the educational history of the student
his performance in academic competitions
his sporting interests and accomplishments
his co-curricular interests and abilities
his reasons for wishing to attend SBHS
the availability of subjects/courses or combinations of these
his proximity and ease of access to the school
compassionate circumstances
whether he has siblings already enrolled in the school
his desire to access single sex education
the impact on local public comprehensive schools
the effects on local area selective classes in comprehensive schools

Selection Committee

Applications will be considered by the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee is chaired by the Principal. Representatives from the P&C and SHSOBU are invited to assist in the selection process. A Deputy Principal is a member of the Committee. The initial assessment of applications may be made by a large sub-committee of the Selection Committee, comprising Teacher Assessors, trained in the assessment procedures applied under the local selection policy. Each application is assessed at least twice and the Assessors鈥� scores are tallied and recorded. Once a rank order list is created, the Committee decides on the number of suitable applications. These applicants are short-listed and invited to sit the Sydney Boys High School Placement Tests. Interviews are then arrange for the number of vacancies available, plus the number of Reserves, determined by the Committee.

Applicants short-listed must attend the school's Placement Tests consisting of a range of literacy and numeracy tasks set by the School. Applicants for Year 11 will also sit a general ability science test. At this stage, Placement Test results, along with the applicants鈥� abilities, interests and achievements are taken into consideration, including their academic and post-school aspirations, their 鈥榝it鈥� with the school鈥檚 ethos in terms of their co-curricular and sporting activities, their demonstrated commitment to the values of the school, appropriate course vacancies and the validity, accuracy and quality of their accompanying documentation. At the conclusion of the process, the Principal recommends the revised rank order list to the Selection Committee and a final rank order list is completed. The rank order lists are shared with the community members for review and comment. As a result of the school's application and testing process, applicants may be invited for an interview.

Usually, interviews for Year 8 will be limited to 5, plus vacancies. Should any more applicants need to be considered they will be ranked on the Selective High School Placement Test Performance Report or IQ test provided with the application and offered places in rank order. If no Selective High School Placement Test Performance Report is supplied, the school's Placement Test results will be used to mesh an applicant into the rank order.

Usually, interviews for Year 9 will be limited to 30, plus vacancies. Should any more applicants need to be considered they will be ranked on the Selective High School Placement Test Performance Report or IQ test provided with the application and offered places in rank order. If no Selective High School Placement Test Performance Report is supplied, the school's Placement Test results will be used to mesh an applicant into the rank order, if any additional vacancies arise.

Usually, interviews for Year 10 and 11 will be limited to 6, plus vacancies. Should any more applicants need to be considered they will be ranked on the basis of the aggregate score from the school's Placement Tests and offered places in rank order.

If vacancies exist, a Placement List is created and applicants are offered places. A Reserve List for future vacancies is created as a result of a different process. Ranked scores from the school鈥檚 Placement Tests, held before interview, are used to determine any remaining vacancies. As vacancies arise applicants are contacted and places are offered. The Reserve List is current until the application process for the following year commences in June. Successful applicants are either offered places or advised of their position on the Reserve List.

Review of Placement Decisions

Under certain conditions, parents can request that the Principal reviews the decision made by the Years 8 - 12 Selection Committee. Please refer to the following guidelines:
icon Guidelines for a review of Years 8 - 12 Placement Decisions

Family Placement Claim

Where two or more boys have equal merit, a boy with a family placement claim will be given priority. A family placement claim can be made if a brother, sister, parent, grandparent or caregiver currently attends or previously attended Sydney Boys High School or Sydney Girls High School. Sons or Grandsons of Old Boys may be invited to sit the school鈥檚 Placement Tests.

Please note Family Placement is a Sydney Boys High School policy. It can only be claimed using the application form obtained from this website. Family Placement is not applicable to applications made using the Selective Education Unit鈥檚 generic application form.

School Financial Contributions

All NSW public schools can request voluntary contributions to enhance their educational and sporting programs. The school determines the level for voluntary contributions and activity co-payments in consultation with the school community as part of the school budget process. Sydney Boys High School has set its voluntary contribution amounts and co-payments, ratified by the School council at its 13 May 2025 meeting, as follows:
Financial Contributions 2026

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