Selective school exam preparation
Through rigorous, thoughtful and data-backed scholastic and personal guidance, we give academically talented students the best possible chance at acing their selective school entrance exam.
At this critical point, our guidance makes all the difference
Every year, approximately 5,000 students compete for 1,000 available seats in Victoria’s four selective schools. It can be a competitive, stressful process. But it doesn’t need to be. Anxiety is the product of poor preparation, but our proven approach gives students the academic rigour and personal confidence they need to succeed.
We work with students in Years 8, 9 and 10 to sit the ACER and Edutest selective school tests used by Melbourne’s selective schools. Each of our students receives a detailed and ever-evolving personalised learning plan and is taught in collaborative small-group classes — the ideal environment to foster agency, resilience and excellence.
Understanding the pathways to selection
Ideally, selective exam preparation should not begin in the immediate lead-up to the exam itself. In fact, the earlier we start, the better. Our courses are designed to foster bright minds from as early as Year 5, encouraging them to indulge in their curiosity and giving them the structure and discipline they’ll need to realise their full potential.
Bootcamp Junior
Program Highlights:
- Essential Skills: Bootcamp Junior equips students with essential skills and strategies to excel in Year 6 SEAL and scholarship exams.
- Focused Instruction: Instruction focuses on effective conceptual learning, question analysis, and answer strategies, enhancing problem-solving abilities.
- Practice and Feedback: Through practice exams and targeted feedback, students build exam readiness and self-confidence, reducing anxiety and improving performance on test day.
- Parental Engagement: Regular progress updates keep parents informed about their child’s performance and outline next steps for continued success.
Pre-foundations
Program Highlights:
- Early Advantage: Ideal for students looking to gain a competitive edge by mastering selective entry concepts ahead of the exam.
- Advanced Curriculum: Focuses on building problem-solving abilities while introducing advanced mathematics and English, aligned with the selective entry exam format.
- Skill Development: Engages students in critical thinking and analytical skills, enhancing their ability to tackle complex problems with confidence.
- Structured Learning: Combines interactive lessons, targeted practice, and ongoing in-class assessments to track progress and ensure comprehensive understanding.
- Supportive Environment: Fosters a collaborative atmosphere where peers can share insights and strategies, introducing healthy competition and allowing them to learn from one another.
- Parental Engagement: Regular updates and feedback for parents keep them informed of their child’s progress and the next steps in their selective entry journey.
Bootcamp junior
Program Highlights:
- Intensive Preparation: Focuses on comprehensive preparation for SEAL and scholarship exams within a concentrated timeframe.
- Tailored Curriculum: Specifically designed for students aiming to enhance their knowledge and skills relevant to the Year 6 SEAL and scholarship formats.
- Skill Development: Strong emphasis on building essential exam skills, including time management, critical thinking, and effective problem-solving strategies.
- Practice and Feedback: Regular practice exams with targeted feedback foster exam readiness and boost confidence as students approach test day.
- Parental Engagement: Collaborating with parents through regular updates and exam feedback to keep them informed about their child’s progress.
Foundations early start
Program Highlights:
- Foundational Content: Covers essential foundational content while prioritising core skill development, ensuring a strong academic base.
- Reduced Pressure: Significantly reduces Year 8 pressure by 30%, helping students transition smoothly into more advanced studies.
- Advanced Exploration: Encourages students to delve into advanced concepts, enhancing their understanding and readiness for the ever-evolving selective entry test.
- Comprehensive Support: Provides a structured learning environment with regular in-class assessments to monitor progress and ensure mastery of key skills.
- Parental Engagement: Regular updates and feedback for parents keep them informed of their child’s progress and the next steps in their selective entry journey.
Foundations
Program Highlights:
- Designed for Beginners: Ideal for students without prior coaching experience, providing a supportive introduction to the selective entry curriculum.
- Curriculum Immersion: Immerses students in the selective entry content, helping them build a solid foundation of knowledge essential for success.
- Familiarisation with Exam Format: Engages students with the exam format, ensuring they understand the structure and expectations of the selective entry assessments.
- Ongoing Support: Offers a structured learning environment with regular assessments to monitor progress and reinforce key concepts throughout the school year.
- Parental Engagement: Regular updates and feedback for parents keep them informed of their child’s progress and the next steps in their selective entry journey.
Foundations early start
Program Highlights:
- Accelerated Curriculum: Students cover the Foundations curriculum in just 6 months, providing a strong base to tackle tougher concepts in Bootcamp Year 8.
- Addressing Knowledge Gaps: Identifies and fills gaps in students' knowledge, ensuring they have a solid grasp of fundamental concepts.
- Exam Approach: Enhances students' exam techniques and strategies, building their confidence and effectiveness as test-takers.
- Structured Learning Environment: Offers a supportive framework with regular assessments to track progress and reinforce conceptual learning throughout the program.
- Parental Engagement: Regular updates and feedback for parents keep them informed of their child’s progress and the next steps in their selective entry journey.
Bootcamp
Program Highlights:
- Structured Learning: Organised classes that maximise learning efficiency, allowing students to systematically learn, practise, and apply key concepts.
- Expert Guidance: Tailored instruction from experienced educators to improve speed and accuracy in exam practice (tutors work closely with students).
- Weekly Mock Examinations: Regular mock exams simulate the testing environment and build student confidence.
- Building a Winning Mindset: Weekly workshops help students build confidence, understand what to expect on exam day, and develop resilience to tackle any question.
- Emphasis on Improvement: Continuous feedback and targeted practice ensure consistent progress and skill refinement.
- Community Support: A collaborative environment where students share insights, ask questions, learn from each other, and stay motivated to excel.
- Parental Engagement: Regular updates and feedback keep parents informed about their child's progress and next steps in the selective entry journey.
Bootcamp
- Program is similar to Bootcamp Year 8, additional points detailed below:
- Application Writing Skills: Students learn how to submit strong applications that effectively showcase their strengths and enable them to stand out in the selection process.
- Interview Preparation: Students collaborate with an interview coach to confidently answer questions, align their values with the school’s mission, and enhance their chances of securing an interview invite.
Melbourne’s four selective entry high schools
Our personalised plans help our students to align their motivations and goals with the values of their preferred school.
Mac.Rob, a top-scoring school in Victoria, is an excellent home for ambitious girls.
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The ‘Castle on the Hill’ turns out well-rounded and socially responsible young men.
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Nossal is the home for academically gifted boys and girls as aspirational as its remarkable founder.
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Providing a student-tailored experience, Integral’s founder is also their former Head of Maths.
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How we help our students excel in selective school exams
Setting personalised goals
We start by understanding each student’s aspirations and academic standing through an initial consultation. From there, we develop a personalised learning plan that aligns with their goals, whether it's excelling in verbal reasoning, acing mathematical challenges, or mastering complex writing tasks. This plan evolves with the student, providing clear, structured steps that guide their preparation journey from start to finish.
Mastering concepts over rote learning
Success in selective school exams goes beyond memorising facts—it’s about grasping core concepts deeply and being able to apply them in new contexts. Our approach focuses on fostering a thorough understanding of each subject area. By emphasising the ‘why’ behind every topic, we enable students to connect ideas, think critically, and solve problems creatively, equipping them to tackle the unpredictable nature of exam questions.
Developing a resilient mindset
Preparing for selective school exams is as much a mental challenge as it is an academic one. We instill a resilient, growth-oriented mindset in our students, teaching them how to approach each challenge with confidence and perseverance. This Champion Mindset ensures that they’re not just ready for their exams but are also equipped to handle any obstacles they may encounter along the way.
Exam techniques and realistic practice
Understanding the material is one part of the puzzle; performing under exam conditions is another. Our students benefit from practicing in simulated exam environments that mirror the pressures and constraints of the real tests. We teach effective exam strategies—such as time management, question prioritisation, and stress mitigation—ensuring that each student knows exactly how to showcase their abilities when it matters most.
Holistic development and character building
Selective schools value well-rounded individuals. We not only focus on academics but also support the growth of each student’s character and extracurricular portfolio. Through our holistic approach, we help students balance their academic commitments with other passions, fostering traits like leadership, resilience, and a strong personal ethos that make them standout candidates.
Interview preparation
For students progressing beyond the written exams, the interview stage becomes crucial. Our interview preparation sessions are tailored to help students articulate their strengths, values, and achievements confidently. We coach them to present their best selves in front of selection panels, making sure they can communicate not just what they know but who they are as individuals.
The two Victorian selective school exams
Acer
The ACER selective exam is accredited and administered by the Department of Education. Students applying to the four Victorian selective schools will sit this exam in either Year 8.
Edutest
The Edutest selective exam is administered independently by the four selective schools for students sitting their entry exams in Years 9 and 10.
Our methodology
Through our experience as both selective school teachers and private educators, we’ve learned that the best approach to selective school test preparation is a holistic model that accounts for a student’s personal and academic needs. Our students’ success rates prove the efficacy of our model. Here’s how it works.
Formulate
Following a consultation with students and their parents, we formulate a tailored plan that fortifies their strengths and targets their weaknesses.
Execute
Students work through their personalised plans in dynamic group classes, where they develop their verbal reasoning and problem-solving skills.
Evaluate
We schedule regular one-on-one consultations with our students to gauge their progress so we can adjust their programs as their needs evolve.
Galvanise
Through regular constructive feedback and motivational training, we ensure our students step into the exam room with the utmost confidence in their abilities.
Integrals educators are more than temporary tutors
We take our responsibility as educators absolutely seriously, and we believe that means holding ourselves to a higher standard — just as we expect our students to do for themselves. Here’s how we stand out in the selective exam preparation industry.
Educators
Tutors
“Integral champions don't just get into selective schools; they embrace lifelong learning and resilience. This is why families choose us - because we prepare students for more than just exams.”
Our students explain our value in their own words
There is truly nothing more gratifying than knowing that our students are not only achieving their goal of earning selection into their school of choice, but also that they’ve developed a genuine (and hopefully life-long) passion for learning. Listen to their testimonials.
Yash Mahajan
Over two years, Yash transformed his academic skills, leading to his acceptance into John Monash Science School. In this video he shares his story.
Ruth Goh
Ruth Goh shares her transformative experience with Integral, highlighting the impact Integral had on her confidence and efficiency in test-taking.
Tanish Lakavath
Tanish Lakavath shares his transformative experience with Integral's unique tutoring approach, which helped him achieve his goal of getting into a selective entry school.
Louise Chin Yu Tong
In this heartfelt video, Louise Chin Yu Tong shares her journey and success story with Integral Tuition, which played a pivotal role in her acceptance into Susan Cory.
Harjas Hora
In this inspiring video, Harjas shares his journey with Integral, detailing how it helped him achieve his dream of attending Melbourne High School.
Why choose Integral
Selective schools seek students with strong personal character as well as academic skill, and that is precisely the quality of student we aim to deliver.
We motivate
We motivate
We grow the individual
Even the brightest student can crumble under pressure. Our selective school exam preparation courses are as much about demystifying the process as they are about setting meaningful expectations and alleviating unproductive anxieties.
We develop
We develop
We cover the entire curriculum
The selective exams test students on their logical, rhetorical and creative expression. To prepare our students as well as possible, our classes push them beyond the objectivity of the hard sciences to ensure they can tackle any challenge.
We learn
We learn
Our learning never ceases either
While our students’ acceptance rate speaks for itself, we would be doing a disservice to our students to rest on our laurels. We regularly develop and refine our classes and methodology to ensure we’re always providing the most effective exam preparation courses possible.
We invest
We invest
Our goals go beyond selection
One value selective schools share is the belief that education is most valuable in the context of humanity. We help our students define and develop their personal ethos, giving them the motivation they need to push themselves towards more ambitious goals.
Meet our educators
Not only is our founder and leader the former Head of Maths at a selective school, but each of our educators is also a former selective school student or educator. Their expertise is invaluable to our students.
Chris Chau
Saloni Sindhu
Megan Menezes
Mark Jakubiec
Venu Mankad
FAQs
Here are a few key insights into the exam process. Please don’t hesitate to call to ask specific questions about our courses.
Learn more about selective exam preparation
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