Victoria Selective High School Test: SEHS Sample Questions

Get ready for the Victoria Selective High School Test! Use this guide to practise and prepare for the big test.

Written by:
Matrix Education

The Victoria Selective Entry High School (SEHS) entrance test opens the door to prestigious educational opportunities. These schools offer specialised subjects, advanced resources, and extracurricular activities that may not be available in other schools. These differences can prepare your child for top universities and successful careers. 

Being admitted to a Victorian selective school for Year 9 is a big achievement. It places your child in a stimulating environment with like-minded, high-achieving peers.  This encourages healthy competition, promotes intellectual growth, and builds confidence. 

In this article, we’ll explain exactly what the Victoria Selective School Test includes and how to prepare for each section. We’ve also provided practice questions to help your child fully prepare.

Read our full guide on Selective Schools in Victoria here.

What does the test assess?

The test measures how well your child can think critically and respond to unfamiliar material. Preparing for this test is different from studying for regular school exams. Instead of reviewing specific topics, students should practice with a variety of question types and examples. The goal is to develop their problem-solving skills and confidence in tackling new challenges.

The test is divided into five sections:

maroon book cover titled 'victorian selective entry high school mock test'

Download your free Selective School Mock Test

Prepare with practice questions that mirror the real exam

Reasoning – Reading test

The Reasoning (Reading) test measures a student’s ability to comprehend, analyse, and draw conclusions from written texts.

Students are asked to:

  • Interpret the meaning of texts
  • Identify main ideas and themes
  • Understand implications
  • Recognise assumptions or logical connections

They might need to identify the author’s purpose, evaluate the tone or attitude, or work out relationships between ideas.

It may even ask your child to evaluate multiple perspectives or analyse arguments to find biases or contradictions.

Sample Question – Reading

Read the following quotation:

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
– Socrates

What is the main idea of this quotation?

  1. Humility
  2. Knowledge
  3. Arrogance
  4. Education

Hand filling out a multiple-choice grammar quiz on a test sheet

Reasoning – Mathematics test

The Reasoning (Mathematics) test assesses how well your child can solve problems using logic and critical thinking, rather than just memorising calculations. It focuses on applying maths to real-world problems, patterns, and problem-solving strategies.

While basic calculation skills are important, the test emphasises understanding concepts and solving problems efficiently.

Students need to analyse information, spot patterns, and build logical arguments. They might also need to interpret diagrams or visualise information given as text.

Sample Question – Mathematics

A collection of small 1 cm cubes is used to build a 5 x 5 x 5 cm cube. The resulting large cube is dipped in paint.

How many of the small cubes have paint on only one face?

  1. 6
  2. 8
  3. 30
  4. 54

General ability – Verbal test

The General Ability (Verbal) test evaluates how well a student can reason, comprehend language, and solve problems using words. 

It measures skills such as:

  • Recognising relationships between words
  • Understanding analogies
  • Identifying patterns
  • Interpreting meanings or differences between terms.

It’s about more than just knowing vocabulary. Your child needs to understand language, think logically, and apply reasoning to new and unfamiliar situations.

Sample question – Verbal

Which word is most similar in meaning to “VIVID”?

  1. Colourful
  2. Dull
  3. Shy
  4. Quiet

General ability – Quantitative test

The General Ability Quantitative test measures how well students can reason with numbers and solve problems involving mathematical concepts. It focuses on recognising patterns and solving number puzzles, rather than solving equations.

The purpose is to test your child’s ability to think critically and flexibly about numbers and quantitative information to find solutions.

Sample question – Quantitative

Find the missing number in the sequence:

2, 5, 11, 23, 47, ?

  1. 95
  2. 99
  3. 101
  4. 103

Close-up of a pen ticking 'accepted' on a form

The writing test

The writing task tests how well students can express their ideas, organize their thoughts, and use language effectively. Students are asked to write either a persuasive or creative response to a given topic within a short time. So, they need to balance planning and writing efficiently. 

What is assessed?

Overall, the test assesses critical thinking, coherence, vocabulary, and grammar under exam conditions. 

  • Persuasive writing: Students must respond to a prompt by presenting arguments and evidence to support their opinion.
  • Creative writing: Students must demonstrate imagination, storytelling, and structure.

Students are marked on the clarity, originality, and relevance of their responses. They can take any viewpoint they like on a persuasive task, as long as they are able to justify it in writing.

Don’t memorise your responses. Adding irrelevant material, even with excellent grammar and language, will lower marks.

Here is an example prompt. You have 20 minutes allocated to answer the writing question.

Sample prompt – Writing

Should mobile phones be banned in schools?
Discuss whether mobile phones should be allowed in schools or whether banning them would improve students’ focus and social interactions.

Conclusion

Encourage your child to give their best effort in the Victoria selective high school test—it’s a great opportunity to set themselves up for academic success.

To help your child succeed, download our FREE Selective Entrance High School Mock Test. With questions that simulate the real exam, they can get the practice they need to perform at their best.

maroon book cover titled 'victorian selective entry high school mock test'

Download your free Selective School Mock Test

Prepare with practice questions that mirror the real exam

Written by Matrix Education

Matrix is Sydney's No.1 High School Tuition provider. Come read our blog regularly for study hacks, subject breakdowns, and all the other academic insights you need.

© Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au, 2023. Unauthorised use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Matrix Education and www.matrix.edu.au with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Related articles

Loading