Sydney Secondary College Balmain Campus: how to get in

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. This campus runs Years 7 to 10; Years 11 and 12 are at Blackwattle Bay Campus.

Year 760 selective places, through the Selective test

Years 8–10When a place is free, decided by a placement panel

Years 11–12At Blackwattle Bay Campus, the senior campus in Glebe

What the school says

What the Department says: “Sydney Secondary College Balmain and Leichhardt campuses offer places in Years 7 to 10. Students from these campuses will generally proceed to Sydney Secondary College Blackwattle Bay Campus for Years 11 and 12.” The Department’s list of selective high schools, read 28 October 2026

Worth knowing

Balmain’s own pages disagree on who runs Years 8 to 10 selective entry. The enrolment page says Leichhardt Campus manages it; the gifted education page says Balmain Campus does. Ask the college.
Blackwattle Bay’s pages also disagree on how to apply for Year 11: one says apply directly to the school, another says selective students apply through the Department. Ask Blackwattle Bay.
The HSC results and Band 6 counts are Blackwattle Bay Campus’s, for all its Year 12 students. Student numbers and attendance are this campus’s.
Through the HSC Acceleration Program, students can apply to take one Year 11 course in Year 10 and its HSC in Year 11.

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 10 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 10 entryYears 8 to 10 in 2028: children in Years 6 to 8 now

Apply to the college (ask which campus)ask 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 10. 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.

Years 8 to 10 entry

Who runs it: Not clear: Balmain’s pages name both Leichhardt Campus and Balmain Campus. Ask the college.
What it involves: The Department’s general form with school reports and NAPLAN (the national literacy and numeracy tests in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9) reports, considered by a placement panel
Fee: Not published on the school’s page
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: Sydney Secondary College Balmain Campus’ website

The selective stream or the Academic Enrichment class?

Selective stream: classes for students offered a selective place, most of them through the Selective test in Year 6.
Academic Enrichment class: a class in Years 7 to 10 for students without a selective place, chosen by the school’s own test and interview.

Question	Selective stream	Academic Enrichment class
Who chooses	For Year 7, the Department, by the Selective test	Balmain
Test	Yes: the Selective test, on a computer in Year 6	Yes: an academic test set by the school, last held on Thursday 21 May 2026. The school doesn’t say what it covers.
Who can apply	Families living in NSW	Students with a non-selective place. Families from outside the local area must first win an out-of-area place (they’re told in mid May), then apply.
How to apply	Apply online to the Department	An application with a portfolio, then the test and an interview.
When	5 November 2026 to 15 February 2027, for Year 7 in 2028 (official)	Last round, for Year 7 in 2027: applications by Friday 27 March 2026, the test on Thursday 21 May, interviews from 2 to 4 June, and offers on Friday 19 June.

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)

Academic Enrichment class

Who chooses: Balmain
Test: Yes: an academic test set by the school, last held on Thursday 21 May 2026. The school doesn’t say what it covers.
Who can apply: Students with a non-selective place. Families from outside the local area must first win an out-of-area place (they’re told in mid May), then apply.
How to apply: An application with a portfolio, then the test and an interview.
When: Last round, for Year 7 in 2027: applications by Friday 27 March 2026, the test on Thursday 21 May, interviews from 2 to 4 June, and offers on Friday 19 June.

More about the Academic Enrichment class

Years: Years 7 to 10. Balmain students go on to Blackwattle Bay Campus for Years 11 and 12.
Places: 30 in each year
Joining later: There’s a separate application for Years 8, 9 and 10, in one round.
The selective stream: A student who leaves the selective stream isn’t automatically placed in an enrichment class.

The dates for the classes are last round’s; the next round isn’t announced yet.

Source: NSW Department of Education (Year 7; who can apply); Sydney Secondary College Balmain Campus’s website and enrolment documents (Years 8 to 10; other classes), read 28 October 2026.

Above the NSW average in all 36 subjects listed.

Students from this campus usually move to Blackwattle Bay Campus for Years 11 and 12, so these are Blackwattle Bay’s results, for all its Year 12 students, who come from more than one campus. 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.

Sydney Secondary College Blackwattle Bay Campus · HSC 2025 · whole campusAverage 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.

At Blackwattle Bay: 265 Band 6 results in 2025. The most in five years.

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.

147 students got at least one Band 6 in 2025.
6 students were All-round Achievers: a Band 6 in 10 or more units of study.
3 state ranks: equal 2nd (2 students) in French Beginners and 5th in Industrial Technology.

Source: NESA’s HSC merit lists, 2021 to 2025, counted by Bing’s Academy. The counts are Blackwattle Bay Campus’s, for all its Year 12 students. These counts are shown on their own. We don’t rank or compare schools by results.

854 students, with more boys than girls.

Students, 2025 (Balmain Campus, all students): 854: 519 boys and 335 girls Between 60% and 62% boys every year since 2022.
Attendance: 88.1% of school days, Semester 1 2025This campus has Years 7 to 10 only. The NSW average for public schools, Years 7 to 12, is 83.7%, so the two don’t compare directly.
Years 11 and 12: At Blackwattle Bay Campus, the college’s senior campus in GlebeThis campus runs Years 7 to 10
Home language: 39% of students speak a language other than English at home, or have a parent who does
Getting there: Rozelle Bay light rail stop (L1 line) is a 30‑minute walk, so a bus is usually quickerPlan a trip (opens in a new tab)
Address: Terry St, Rozelle NSW 2039 · 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 Sydney Secondary College Balmain Campus use HAST?

Its pages don’t name a test for Years 8 to 10. A placement panel considers each application with school reports and NAPLAN.

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).

Where do students go for Years 11 and 12?

Usually to Blackwattle Bay Campus, the college’s senior campus in Glebe. Ask the college whether your child needs to apply and whether their selective place continues. The HSC results on this page are Blackwattle Bay’s.

What mark do you need to get in?

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

Aiming for Balmain Campus?

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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Sydney Secondary College Balmain Campus

How could your child get in?