Ryde Secondary College

A partially selective public high school in Ryde, in Sydney’s north-west, for boys and girls in Years 7 to 12. Partially selective means it has selective classes alongside classes for local students. Here’s how to get in, how its students do in the HSC (the exams at the end of Year 12), and what the school is like.

Bing’s Academy is independent of the school. Every figure here is from a public source, named under each section.

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How could your child get in?

Pick the year your child is in now (2026).

60 selective places in Year 7.

The selective stream is a set of classes for students offered a selective place, most of them through the Selective test in Year 6. Later places go through the school, which hasn’t published its dates.

Year 760 selective places, through the Selective test
Years 8–11Through the school. Ask how and when
Year 12The school’s page doesn’t say
What the school says

What the school says: “Ryde Secondary College is a co-educational high school for students from Years 7 to 12, with an academically selective cohort, an additional high potential and gifted class, and mainstream classes (the school’s other classes) in each cohort.” The school’s 2025 annual report

Worth knowing
  • The school’s documents describe the selective stream differently. The enrolment page says two classes in Years 7 to 10; the enrolment handbook says 60 students in each of Years 7 to 12.
  • The school doesn’t say how it chooses students for selective places in Years 8 to 11. Ask the school.
  • Only the selective stream is selective. The HSC results, Band 6 counts and student numbers on this page cover the whole school.

Two ways into the selective stream, for places starting in 2028.

Year 7 places go through the Department’s Selective test. Selective places in Years 8 to 11 go through the school directly.

Nov 2026DecJan 2027FebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOct
Year 7 entryYear 7 in 2028: children in Year 5 now
Apply online5 Nov to 15 Feb Selective test13 or 14 May OffersAugust
Years 8 to 11 entryYears 8 to 11 in 2028: children in Years 6 to 9 now
Apply to Rydeask the school for dates

The Year 7 dates are the Department’s official dates. The school hasn’t published its dates for Years 8 to 11. Ask the school.

Who runs it, fees and the school’s website

Year 7 entry

Who runs it
The NSW Department of Education, for all selective schools
Score needed
Not published. It changes every year.
The test
Done on a computer, in Year 6, in four parts: reading, mathematical reasoning, thinking skills and writing (our Selective test guide)
Late applications
Not accepted
Who can apply
Families living in NSW by the start of the school year. Conditions may apply if your child isn’t an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen.
School match: which selective schools suit your child

Years 8 to 11 entry

Who runs it
Ryde Secondary College, for its selective stream
Current students
The school doesn’t say whether students in its other classes can apply: ask.
Who can apply
Families living in NSW by the start of the school year. Conditions may apply if your child isn’t an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or a New Zealand citizen.
School website
Ryde Secondary College’s website

The selective stream or the high potential and gifted class?

  • Selective stream: classes for students offered a selective place, most of them through the Selective test in Year 6.
  • High potential and gifted class: one class in each of Years 7 to 10, for students from Ryde’s local area.
QuestionSelective streamHigh potential and gifted class
Who choosesFor Year 7, the Department, by the Selective testRyde
TestYes: the Selective test, on a computer in Year 6None mentioned.
Who can applyFamilies living in NSWOnly students from Ryde’s local area
How to applyApply online to the DepartmentNo application is described. The school chooses students on several academic criteria it doesn’t list, plus teachers’ judgement, ranks them, and sends offer letters.
When5 November 2026 to 15 February 2027, for Year 7 in 2028 (official)Not published: ask the school.

Selective stream

Who chooses
For Year 7, the Department, by the Selective test
Test
Yes: the Selective test, on a computer in Year 6
Who can apply
Families living in NSW
How to apply
Apply online to the Department
When
5 November 2026 to 15 February 2027, for Year 7 in 2028 (official)

High potential and gifted class

Who chooses
Ryde
Test
None mentioned.
Who can apply
Only students from Ryde’s local area
How to apply
No application is described. The school chooses students on several academic criteria it doesn’t list, plus teachers’ judgement, ranks them, and sends offer letters.
When
Not published: ask the school.

More about the high potential and gifted class

Years
One class in each of Years 7 to 10

Source: NSW Department of Education (Year 7; who can apply); Ryde Secondary College’s website and enrolment documents (Years 8 to 11; other classes), read 28 October 2026.

Above the NSW average in all 29 subjects listed.

The HSC is the set of exams at the end of Year 12. Each HSC subject is marked out of 100. The school’s yearly report lists the average mark of its Year 12 students in each subject, next to the NSW average. Subjects with fewer than 10 students are not listed. The marks cover every Year 12 student at Ryde, whichever classes they were in.

Ryde Secondary College · HSC 2025 · whole schoolAverage mark out of 100, Year 12
The NSW average includes every student in NSW who took the subject.

Source: the school’s 2025 annual report, NSW Department of Education (CC BY 4.0). These results are shown on their own. We don’t rank or compare schools by results.

154 Band 6 results in 2025, down 8 on 2024.

A Band 6 is the top result in an HSC subject. Here is what the count tells you, and what it doesn’t.

What the count does and doesn’t tell you
What it is
A mark of 90 or more out of 100 in one subject. In Extension subjects the top band is called E4, and the counts here include E4s.
Where it comes from
NESA, which runs the HSC, lists the students who get one, with their school.
What it misses
One student with three Band 6s counts three times. It also tells you nothing about students who got under 90.
  • 81 students got at least one Band 6 in 2025.
  • 1 student was an All-round Achiever: a Band 6 in 10 or more units of study.

Source: NESA’s HSC merit lists, 2021 to 2025, counted by Bing’s Academy. The counts cover the whole school, not only the selective stream. These counts are shown on their own. We don’t rank or compare schools by results.

1,486 students, with more boys than girls.

Students, 2025 (whole school)
1,486: 785 boys and 701 girls Between 52% and 53% boys every year since 2022.
Attendance
89.2% of school days, Semester 1 2025Average for NSW public schools, Years 7 to 12: 83.7%
After Year 12
80% of the 2025 Year 12 group went on to universityThe school’s own count, in its annual report
Home language
67% of students speak a language other than English at home, or have a parent who does
Getting there
West Ryde Station is a 49‑minute walk, so most trips need a busPlan a trip (opens in a new tab)
Address
Malvina St, Ryde NSW 2112 · Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)

Source: the school’s 2025 annual report; NSW Department of Education school data, 2 October 2026 (CC BY 4.0); Google Maps and Transport for NSW.

Before you apply.

Does Ryde Secondary College use HAST?

Its page doesn’t name a test for Years 8 to 11. Ask the school how it chooses students.

How many Year 7 places are there?

60 selective places in Year 7: 30 for boys and 30 for girls. From the Department’s list (read 28 October 2026).

Is the whole school selective?

No. Only the selective stream is. The figures on this page cover the whole school.

What mark do you need to get in?

The Department doesn’t publish one. It changes every year, depending on who applies.

Aiming for Ryde?

Of the 22 students we taught who sat the Selective test in 2026, 17 received an offer of a selective place (not always at this school). We will never promise a place: the Department marks the exam and the cut-offs move every year. What we can promise is that you will know where your child stands, for Year 7 or for joining later.

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