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NSW Opportunity Class placement test: a guide for parents
How the NSW Opportunity Class placement test works: when applications open, what the three sections cover, and how places are offered to Year 5 students.
Read the guideKey points
Opportunity classes are full-time classes for high potential and gifted students in Year 5 and Year 6. There are 89 in New South Wales, with about 1,840 Year 5 places [1].
Applications for Year 5 entry open in November of a child's Year 3 and close in February. The placement test is held in May of Year 4, and late applications are not accepted [2][3].
The test has three equally weighted sections: Reading, Mathematical Reasoning and Thinking Skills. It is computer-based and designed to measure ability rather than curriculum knowledge [4][5].
Eighty per cent of places are offered on test performance, with up to 20 per cent held for students from under-represented groups [2].
What is an opportunity class?
Term 4 is when many New South Wales families first hear about opportunity classes, because applications for the following cycle open in November. This guide sets out what the placement test involves and how places are allocated, using the Department of Education's own procedures and application pages.
Opportunity classes are for "high potential and gifted students in Year 5 and 6", and placement is a two-year program covering both years [1]. Parents apply at the end of Year 3 or the beginning of Year 4. There is no separate application for Year 6 only.
There are 89 opportunity classes across the state: 57 in metropolitan Sydney, 31 in rural and regional centres, and Aurora College, which teaches rural and remote students online in science, technology and mathematics [1]. Together the schools offer about 1,840 Year 5 places, with 100 of those at Aurora College [1].
The number of places varies between schools, some run composite Year 5 and 6 classes, and in most cases a student who accepts a place leaves their current school [1]. Families can apply to a class outside their local enrolment area, which makes travel a practical question worth thinking about early.
When do applications open and close?
The department's placement procedures set the pattern for each year. For Year 5 entry, applications "open in November when the student is in Year 3", close in February, and the test is held in May of Year 4 [2].
The two most recent cycles followed exactly that shape. For 2026 entry, applications opened on 7 November 2024 and closed on 21 February 2025, the test ran from 2 to 4 May 2025 with a make-up test on 19 May, and the outcome was released on 29 August 2025 [3]. For 2027 entry, the application period ran from 6 November 2025 to 20 February 2026, with the opportunity class test held on 8 and 9 May 2026 and a make-up test on 22 May [6][5].
Two points matter for families. The department states plainly that "no late applications will be accepted" and that the application period cannot be extended [2][3]. Admission tickets are sent two weeks before the test, must be printed, and "a digital copy on a phone or device will not be accepted" [5]. Exact dates for the current cycle are published on the department's placement test page, so it is worth checking that page rather than relying on dates from a previous year.
What is on the test?
The placement test is computer-based and has three sections, each weighted equally at 33.3 per cent of the total: Reading, with 14 questions in 40 minutes; Mathematical Reasoning, with 35 questions in 40 minutes; and Thinking Skills, with 30 questions in 30 minutes [4].
Laptops are supplied, so "students do not need to bring their own computer or mouse" [5]. The department's application guide describes the test as "designed to measure ability rather than curriculum knowledge", and states that students must sit the test to be considered, because "no other form of academic merit is considered" [3]. There is no writing section in the opportunity class test, unlike the selective high school test [2].
The Mathematical Reasoning section is the largest by question count, at 35 questions in 40 minutes. That is roughly a minute per question, so fluency with the number work a child has already met at school matters more than unfamiliar content. If you want to see what your child's year level covers, what the curriculum expects in each year (/learn/is-my-child-on-track) sets it out.
How are places offered?
Of the places available, "80% are initially offered to students according to their performance in the placement test" [2]. Up to 20 per cent are held under the Equity Placement Model for four groups: students from low socio-educational backgrounds (10 per cent of places), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students (5 per cent), rural and remote students (2.5 per cent) and students with disability (2.5 per cent) [2]. Students in those groups may be offered a place if their test performance is "within 10% of the minimum general applicant first-round offer" for that school [6].
From 2027, co-educational opportunity classes also set a number of places for girls and boys. The department's example is a class with 15 Year 5 places: seven go to boys, seven to girls, and the remaining place goes on academic merit regardless of gender [1].
Appeals are lodged through the application dashboard, typically within five business days of the outcome, and must be supported by evidence such as medical documentation. The procedures are specific about what does not count: a lack of test preparation is not valid grounds, and neither are results from scholarship or coaching college testing [2].
How can you prepare without over-preparing?
The department publishes official practice tests, including online versions that simulate the real thing with a timer, and older paper-based PDF tests that it warns "do not reflect the current test format" [4]. Sitting one online practice test is a reasonable way to remove surprises about the format.
Beyond that, the most useful preparation is the ordinary maths your child is already doing. Mathematical reasoning questions draw on number, fractions (/worksheets/maths/topic/fractions), measurement (/worksheets/maths/topic/measurement) and number properties (/worksheets/maths/topic/number-properties) rather than on test-specific tricks, and short regular practice is easier to sustain through Term 4 than long sessions. Free printable worksheets with answer keys for every topic are at /worksheets/maths.
It is also worth keeping the test in proportion. With about 1,840 Year 5 places statewide, most capable children will not receive an offer. The policy states that "placement is based solely on academic merit" on the day of the test, which is not the same thing as a judgement of a child's potential [2]. The department's own student video encourages children to give the test a go rather than rule themselves out [1].
How Noooli can help
Noooli publishes free printable maths worksheets for Kindergarten to Year 6, with answer keys and no sign-up, at /worksheets/maths. There is also short daily maths practice of about ten minutes, aligned to the Australian Curriculum, with progress parents can see. Noooli is also on the App Store and Google Play: get the app (/free/app).
References
1. NSW Department of Education, "Opportunity classes (Year 5-6)", last updated 23 July 2026. https://education.nsw.gov.au/schooling/parents-and-carers/choosing-a-school-setting/selective-high-schools/choosing-a-school/opportunity-classes
2. NSW Department of Education, "Selective high schools and opportunity class placement procedures", policy PD-2002-0006-06, last updated 5 November 2025. https://education.nsw.gov.au/policy-library/policies/pd-2002-0006-06.html
3. NSW Department of Education, "Application guide: opportunity class placement", 2026 entry. https://education.nsw.gov.au/content/dam/main-education/schooling/parents-and-carers/choosing-a-school-setting/selective-high-schools-and-opportunity-classes-parents/documents/OC_application_guide.pdf
4. NSW Department of Education, "Opportunity class practice tests", last updated 22 July 2026. https://education.nsw.gov.au/schooling/parents-and-carers/choosing-a-school-setting/selective-high-schools/placement-test/opportunity-class-practice-tests
5. NSW Department of Education, "Placement test", last updated 18 August 2026. https://education.nsw.gov.au/schooling/parents-and-carers/choosing-a-school-setting/selective-high-schools/placement-test
6. NSW Department of Education, "Selective high school and opportunity class applications open", 10 November 2025. https://education.nsw.gov.au/news/latest-news/selective-school-and-opportunity-classes-application-open
Common questions
When do Opportunity Class applications open in New South Wales?
Under the department's placement procedures, applications for Year 5 entry open in November of the student's Year 3 and close in February, with the placement test held in May of Year 4. Exact dates for each cycle are published on the department's placement test page.
What is on the Opportunity Class placement test?
There are three computer-based sections, each worth 33.3 per cent of the total. Reading has 14 questions in 40 minutes, Mathematical Reasoning has 35 questions in 40 minutes, and Thinking Skills has 30 questions in 30 minutes. There is no writing section.
How are opportunity class places allocated?
Eighty per cent of places are offered on placement test performance. Up to 20 per cent are held under the Equity Placement Model for students in four under-represented groups. From 2027, co-educational classes also set a number of places for girls and boys.
