HOW TO GET INTO JAMES RUSE AGRICULTURAL HIGH SCHOOL
Updated April 2020
James Ruse Agricultural High School has been the highest ranking school for 29 consecutive years since 1991. For this reason it is also the most competitive Selective school to gain entry into – the minimum score of students that successfully gained in 2019 was 250 out of 300. Being an agricultural school, agricultural studies is a compulsory subject from years 7-10. As of 2019, about 97% of the population is from a non-English speaking background which goes to show the diversity and holistic education standards of the school. James Ruse Agricultural High School is located in Carlingford and surrounded by a five hectare farm in which students raise a variety of produce. Along with its consistently high academic achievement, the school offers a wide range of extra-curricular activities and programs to support the holistic development of their students.
Needless to say, applying for entry to James Ruse Agricultural High School is extremely challenging, even for the brightest students. To compete against the top-percentile of high-achieving students, it is important to be extremely disciplined and hard-working beyond talent itself. Entry is assessed upon a score out of 300, in which 100 marks are allocated to the internal academic performance of a student within their schools, and 200 marks are based on the outcome of the Selective Schools placement test.
This test takes place during march prior to the year in which a child plans to enrol within the school (e.g. a student would sit the test in March 2020 to gain entry into the school for a 2021 start). The test is specific in structure and format, and often relies on skills of time management and effective preparation. Most students gaining entry into this school will have undergone tutoring as it is important to work beyond the school curriculum – students who are not currently attending tutoring will be disadvantaged in their potential to succeed in this test.
At Alchemy Tuition we understand the difficulty of making time to send your child to and from tutoring services which are normally quite expensive. That’s why we offer a unique one-on-one service which sends our tutors to your doorstep at a flexible no-contract schedule that can be adjusted as you and your child need. All our accredited tutors are equipped with specific resources that target optimal performance in the selective school test, and because we are a private service, our tutors are able to divert personalised attention to identifying your child’s specific
Many of our tutors have personally experienced sitting the selective school test so they are able to offer useful advice beyond the test materials itself. Our tutors can engage with struggles of time management, exam anxiety and nerves, and develop tips and tricks that are tailored to your child’s personal learning capacities. We can guarantee that working with an Alchemy tutor will not only give your child the support and confidence to confront the Selective Schools placement test, but provide them with long-term skills which will help them sustain academic success for consequent years.
