Opportunity class placement confuses most families for one reason: the year your child applies is not the year they start. This guide sets out what the NSW Department of Education actually says — dates, test structure, and how placement is decided.
All three, in sequence. This is the single most common misunderstanding, and it costs families an entire cycle when they get it wrong. The Department describes the application window as applying “at the end Year 3 or the beginning of Year 4”.
An opportunity class runs for two years, Year 5 and Year 6. There is no separate Year 6 entry, so the Year 4 test is the only entry point.
Age matters as well as year level. Students are typically “aged between 9 years and 5 months and 11 years at the time they start Year 5”. For the 2027 intake the Department set the birth date range as 1 January 2016 to 31 July 2017 — worth checking early if your child started school unusually young or repeated a year.
These are the actual dates from the most recently completed cycle — Year 5 entry in 2027. The shape of the calendar repeats each year, so it is the most reliable guide to what the next cycle will look like.
| Stage | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Applications open | 6 November 2025 | Child is in Year 3 |
| Applications close | 20 February 2026 | Child is in Year 4 |
| Test admission ticket | April 2026 | 2 weeks before the test |
| Placement test | 8 or 9 May 2026 | Child is in Year 4 |
| Make-up test | 22 May 2026 | Approved illness or misadventure only |
| Last day to change school choices | 5 June 2026 | |
| Placement outcome released | Term 3, 2026 |
The Department notes that these dates are subject to change. Dates for the next cycle had not been published at the time of writing — check the official key dates page before relying on any calendar, including this one.
The Department’s wording is unambiguous: “Closing dates for applications are strictly observed. No late applications will be accepted.” Because the test is sat once, in Year 4, a missed February deadline means missing opportunity class entry altogether — not a delay, but the end of it.
Three components. Unlike the Selective High School Placement Test, there is no writing task.
Comprehension across a range of text types. Questions 1 to 19 are four-option multiple choice; questions 20 to 33 switch format, with the correct letter written into a numbered space. Inference — reading what a passage implies rather than states — is what separates strong candidates.
Problem solving rather than computation. Each question offers five options, A to E — one more than the other sections, which removes some of the value of eliminating and guessing. Calculators and dictionaries are not permitted.
Logic and reasoning, four options per question. The Department states that no previous knowledge is required for this component, which is why it cannot be prepared for by revising school content alone. One minute per question.
These counts come from the instruction pages of the Department’s own practice question papers, which state them directly. Summary pages elsewhere on the Department’s site describe Reading differently, counting question groups rather than answers — where the two disagree, the question paper is the primary document.
Families often ask what score is needed. The Department answers this directly: “there are no set minimum entry scores to receive an offer to a selective high school or opportunity class”. The threshold shifts every year with the number of applicants, their relative performance, and the places available at each school.
Results are reported in four bands: the top 10% of candidates, the next 15%, the next 25%, and the lowest 50%.
Two further rules surprise most families. Up to 20% of places at each school are held under the Equity Placement Model for students from low socio-educational advantage backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, students from rural and remote locations, and students with disability — and those students still receive offers based on test performance. And an offer arrives from only one school, not several.
On 17 October 2025 the NSW Government announced that an equal number of places would be available for girls and boys at all selective high schools, partially selective high schools, and opportunity classes — beginning with the 2027 intake.
The context given at the time: opportunity classes were running at roughly 60% boys and 40% girls, and selective high schools at 58% to 42%. Acting Minister for Education and Early Learning Courtney Houssos said there was “a growing decline in girls accepting places in opportunity classes and selective high schools”.
Selection remains based on placement test performance. The change affects how places are distributed, not how candidates are assessed.
Year 4. This is the part most families get wrong. Applications open while your child is in Year 3 and close while they are in Year 4. The test is sat in Year 4, and successful students start the opportunity class in Year 5. The NSW Department of Education describes the application window as "at the end Year 3 or the beginning of Year 4".
Two years — Year 5 and Year 6. There is no separate entry point for Year 6 only, so the Year 4 test is the single opportunity to apply.
Three: Reading, Mathematical Reasoning and Thinking Skills. There is no writing task in the OC test, which is one of the differences from the Selective High School Placement Test.
Ninety-eight across the three papers, according to the practice question papers published by the Department: Reading is 33 questions in 40 minutes, Mathematical Reasoning is 35 questions in 40 minutes, and Thinking Skills is 30 questions in 30 minutes. Mathematical Reasoning offers five options per question rather than four.
There is no fixed pass mark. The NSW Department of Education states plainly that "there are no set minimum entry scores to receive an offer to a selective high school or opportunity class". The cut-off moves every year depending on how many students apply, how they perform relative to each other, and how many places exist at each school.
Performance is reported in one of four bands: the top 10% of candidates, the next 15%, the next 25%, and the lowest 50%. You receive a placement outcome rather than a raw rank against every other candidate.
Yes. From the 2027 intake onwards, an equal number of places are available for girls and boys at all opportunity classes and selective high schools. The NSW Government announced this on 17 October 2025, noting that opportunity classes had been running at roughly 60% boys and 40% girls. Selection is still based on placement test performance.
No. The NSW Department of Education states that "closing dates for applications are strictly observed. No late applications will be accepted." Because the test is only sat once, in Year 4, missing the February deadline means missing opportunity class entry entirely.
One. You receive a placement offer from only one school. If your child is placed on a reserve list, an offer may still come later if their position is reached before all vacancies are filled.
Every date, quotation and rule on this page comes from the following official documents. Where the official materials were silent, we have said so rather than fill the gap.
Last reviewed 2 August 2026. Official dates and rules change — confirm against the Department’s key dates page before acting on them.
