Enrolment Information

Year 9 2021

The revised date for the Selective Entry High School examination has been set for 14 and 15 November 2020 and additional information has been emailed to all applicants.

For further information please contact the Select Entry Unit on seu@edumail.vic.gov.au

Updated on 8 October 2020

Further general information on Year 9 entry into a selective entry high school is available at DET Selective Entry High Schools.

Applications to be considered for entry into Mac.Rob in 2021 are now closed.

To apply for the examination and to keep updated, keep checking this page on our website or visit Department of Education and Training website. Decisions regarding the Year 9 2021 entrance examination are made by the Department of Education and Training.

UPDATED 19 June 2020

Year 10 and 11 2021 entrance examination and entry to Mac.Rob cancellation.

It is with regret that The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School has decided to cancel the 2021 Year 10 and 11 entrance examinations scheduled for Friday 5th June. As a result of the small number of students that the school would be accepting in 2021 at these year levels and the restrictions placed on the whole community due to COVID-19, the school will not be taking any new students in Years 10 and 11 for 2021.

All students who wish to gain entry to The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School must undertake an entrance examination in June of the year preceding enrolment and be an Australian citizen or have Permanent Residency status.

Please note: Information below this line is standard, for updates please visit DET website.

Year 9

The Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET) will oversee the Entrance examination for entry to Year 9 in 2021 for The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, Melbourne High School, Nossal High School in Berwick and Suzanne Cory High School in Werribee.

The Department of Education Selective Entry Information Pack available here: www.education.vic.gov.au

The DET Select Entry Unit is responsible for the whole entrance examination and enrolment process, the conduct of the examination and the allocation of offers for Year 9 2021 entry. To keep updated, visit Department of Education and Training website.

An information package will be sent via email to all applicants in the week before the entrance examination. Student identification numbers, transport and venue information and tips for taking the entrance examination will be included. The primary source of contact and correspondence by both the DET and The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School will be through email. Applicants are advised not to provide a Hotmail email address.

Should the applicant happen to undergo a family crisis, illness or injury which would prevent them from undertaking the entrance examination, the DET Select Entry Unit must be contacted before the commencement of the examination. In the case of illness or injury, a doctor's certificate must be produced in support of the applicant.

The Entrance Examination

The Year 9 2021 Entrance Examination

Applications Close: Friday 8 May 2020

Date of exam: Saturday 19 September 2020

Time of exam: Arrive by 11.30 am

Venue:     Melbourne Showgrounds, Flemington
                                    enter via Epsom Rd, ASCOT VALE
                                    Possibility of a dedicated train direct to Showgrounds.
                                    Select Entry Unit to advise by email.

Duration: 3 hours writing (with a short break)

Please make an application here for the Entrance Examination to enter Year 9 in 2021.

Students in the second year of secondary education at government or non-government schools, who are either Australian citizens or who have Permanent Resident status are eligible to sit the Entrance Examination.

While the examination is based on the areas of English and Mathematics, the student's potential and ability to reason are assessed rather than the emphasis on knowledge of the curriculum.

Students will be examined in the following areas:

Verbal Reasoning
Numerical Reasoning
Persuasive or Creative Writing
Reading Comprehension
Mathematics

Past exam papers or practice questions are not supplied by the school. The examination is prepared by an educational psychologist who is employed by the DET on behalf of the following select entry schools: The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, Melbourne High School, Nossal High School and Suzanne Cory High School.

The English component of the examination requires students to undertake a Persuasive or Creative writing task in addition to Verbal Reasoning and Reading Comprehension tasks which are both in a multiple choice format. There are two numeracy-based multiple choice sections, Numerical Reasoning and Mathematics. The examination is constructed to allow all students to demonstrate their intellectual capacity rather than curriculum mastery.

How Students Are Selected

Year 9 Selection allocation

85% on score and rank order of an acceptable standard after the Entrance Examination

10% allocated through Equity Consideration (see DET Information Pack)

5% through the Principal's Discretionary Category

All students MUST undertake the entrance examination

Victorian government policy allows for a maximum of 5% of students in Year 8 from any one school to be accepted into a Select Entry High School based solely on the examination each year. For example: if there are 200 Year 8 students enrolled at a particular secondary school, a maximum of 10 students (5% of 200 = 10) from that school can be offered a place across the four Selective Entry High Schools.

This means 10 students between The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School, Melbourne High School, Nossal High School or Suzanne Corey High School, not 10 students at each school. For each Select Entry High School, 85% of the Year 9 enrolment will be filled in this manner. The 5% Rule does not apply to students who are offered a place based on Equity Consideration or Principal's Discretion and the number of places available (i.e. places are offered until all 1,010 are allocated.

The Cut-Off Mark

There is no particular mark that a student must attain in the entrance examination to be offered a place at a Selective Entry High School. Each year, over 3000 candidates will sit the entrance examination for a total of approximately 1,010 places (across all four schools). The offers are determined by a combination of entrance examination score, the 5% Rule, Equity Considerations, Principal's Discretion and the number of places available (i.e. places are offered until all 1,010 are allocated).

The Principal's Discretionary Category

The Principal's Discretionary Category places are offered after the Entrance Examination. Students will be invited to apply for a Principal's Discretionary Category place. Students will be advised by the DET Select Entry Unit if they have been invited to apply for PDC

The process involves selecting 15 students through application, short listing and interview. These places are not subject to the 5% Rule. The Principal's decision is final and not subject to appeal.

Year 10 and 11 Vacancies

Cancellation of 2021 Year 10 and 11 entry to Mac.Rob and entrance examination.

It is with regret that The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School has decided to cancel the 2021 Year 10 and 11 entrance examinations scheduled for Friday 5th June. As a result of the small number of students that the school would be accepting in 2021 at these year levels and the restrictions placed on the whole community due to COVID-19, the school will not be taking any new students in Years 10 and 11 for 2021.

There are a very few vacancies for Years 10 & 11, these are not known until late in the year.

The number of vacancies for enrolment for Year 10 in 2021 will be conditional on any vacancies that may occur within the Year 9 cohort of the previous year. There is no guarantee that there will be any vacancies.

Vacancies and subsequent interviews to fill these vacancies may not be completed until well into Term 4.

The school does not offer enrolment at Year 12.

Entry Requirements For Year 10 and 11

There is an Entrance Examination for these levels. The examination will be held at The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School on Friday 5 June 2020 for entry to the school in 2021. Candidates will receive information relating to commencement times, what to bring to the examination and maps, by email,one week prior to the examination.

At all of these levels students are asked to submit evidence of academic and co-curricular involvement and achievement. Applications will be considered and a short list of candidates will be interviewed by a school panel. While it is preferable that applicants for Year 10 to study one of the four languages offered at the school (French, German, Indonesian and Japanese), it is not mandatory for students entering Year 10 in 2021 and selection will not be based on language choice. Offers of places at Year 11 depend on vacancies occurring in particular subjects: there may be several places available in some subjects, but none in others

Important Note for Year 10 and 11 Entry

After receiving their mid-year report (June), applicants should send photocopies of their two most recent school reports and a summary of achievement in the areas of academic and co-curricular involvement. Photocopied reports and attachments with the applicant's address and year level applied for clearly written will be requested mid-July each year.

School zone: As a selective entry government school The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School is not zoned.

Entry is gained via an examination and interview.