Selective school

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A selective school is a school which admits students on the basis of some sort of selection criteria, usually academic. The term may have different connotations in different systems.

Australia

New South Wales

In New South Wales, Australia, selective high schools is the name given to the government schools which select their students on the basis of their academic ability. Most students enter a selective high school in Year 7, after sitting the Selective High Schools Test in the previous year. In New South Wales, the process of entering selective schools is much like that of a university, with students electing their preferences and getting chosen for schools based on their performance on the Selective High Schools Test.

Victoria

In Victoria, Australia, Selective high schools are those which select all of their students based on an entrance examination and/or audition. As of 2009 there are three selective entry schools, with two more opening in 2010 (John Monash Science School, Nossal High School), and a sixth opening in 2011 (Cory High School). A seventh school, Maribyrnong College, applies select entry only to those students in its specialist sport program.

Melbourne High and MacRoberston Girls' High

Melbourne High School for boys and Mac.Robertson Girls' High School for girls (both run from Years 9-12) admit students based on their performance in an Entrance Examination usually held in June every year. As the schools admit from Year 9 only, students attend other secondary schools prior to Year 9 and choose to leave because of the outstanding academic reputation of the two schools. The two schools achieve constantly high results in the VCE. MacRobertson Girls' has achieved a higher median study score and ENTER since Melbourne High began taking a larger cohort of students (as a result of the creation of a new building), but competition between the two schools remain a feature of every year's VCE results period.

The high results of the two schools have led to accusations from other schools in Victoria as well as some elements of the press that the Entrance Examination conducted by the two schools constitutes to some form of 'poaching' of students. The schools have been engaged in many battles to convince other schools that they are not 'poaching' the top students from all other schools. The initiation of the 3% rule in the Entrance Examination meant that no more than 3% of a cohort of students from any school could enter the selective schools in any one year. The schools are still criticized for taking away students who some claim could foster a more conducive environment for learning for the betterment of other students.

The iconic Melbourne High School building. Melbourne High is one of the two selective high schools in Victoria

In the last state elections in Victoria both parties (The Liberals and the Australian Labor Party) were of the opinion that more selective schools were required in Victoria. The selective schools issue in Victoria was a major talking point, with both parties planning the creation of at least two more selective schools, possibly coeducational. Recently, it was announced that three more selective schools would be open. In 2010, Nossal High School will open next to Monash University's Berwick campus and will take enrolment including Year 8 students who sit the 2009 exam, similarly John Monash Science School will open in 2010 next to Monash University's Clayton campus. It has also been planned that in 2011, Cory High School will open in Werribee. All three schools will be co-educational.

Most parties are generally favourable to this idea, with local councils appreciating the input of selected students from around the state into their schools and the existing two schools appreciating the creation of a greater selective community. Melbourne High in particular seeks to maintain close ties with the upcoming Werribee school. There are fears, however, that given Melbourne High and MacRobertson Girls' High School's preeminent positions as the leading schools in the state, that the most intelligent students (or those that achieved higher scores in the Entrance Examination) will continue to pick these two schools and that the new selective schools would be left with the remainder of the students.

Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School

The VCA Secondary School for musicians and dancers (Years 7-12), does not admit students based on entrance examination, but has its own selection process.

Restricted schools

Several schools in Victoria, roughly twenty five primary and secondary schools per region, are restricted either as a neighbourhood school or as a ceiling limited school. These schools are sometimes mistaken as selective, however, they do not select under academic excellence and therefore technically should not be considered as selective.

A neighbourhood school, such as Balwyn High School will only accept students strictly from a particular zone which is defined by the regional office for the Department of Education. Students must live in the area, and have lived in the area for 1 year, and be able to sign a form which guarantees they have genuine interest in continually living in the area. This rule came into effect originally as these schools were known highly for its academic excellence and had many people from outer areas crowding the school, which caused probelms in the school in guaranteeing enrolements for local students (every student in Australia must be guaranteed enrolment in the closest secondary school to them). Under special circumstances, other students from other areas may be accepted.

Ceiling limited schools (there are more of these type of schools then neighbourhood schools) are a more loosely restricted type of school. These schools have the rule in effect for similar reasons, however, they will only prioritise enrolement for neighbourhood students - should there be spaces left, which there usually are, students from out-of-zone will be accepted.

It should be made aware that there are also restricted primary schools, but no selective primary schools.

United Kingdom

Most schools in the UK are now comprehensive schools, which are non-selective. However there are still 164 grammar schools in several counties of England, which select pupils either on the basis of an Eleven Plus examination, by an internally set and moderated examination, or by both. There are a number of selective schools in Scotland and Wales, some of ancient foundation.

Local Education Authorities which continue to maintain a fully selective education system:

• Bexley
• Bournemouth
• Buckinghamshire
• Kent
• Kingston^{[disambiguation needed]}
• Lincolnshire
• Medway
• Poole
• Reading
• Slough
• Southend
• Sutton
• Torbay
• Trafford
• Wirral

Several other LEAs have a mainly non-selective system but a few selective schools exist alongside their comprehensive counterparts, these are; Barnet, Birmingham, Bromley, Calderdale, Cumbria, Devon, Enfield, Essex, Gloucestershire, Kirklees, Lancashire, Liverpool, North Yorkshire, Plymouth, Redbridge, Stoke on Trent, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Wolverhampton, Telford and The Wrekin.

There is also a smaller number of partially selective schools in England.

In Northern Ireland a similar system of grammar schools is in the process of being dismantled by the Northern Ireland Education Order which is going through Westminster.

United States

Selective schools in the United States are typically for the high school level, and are often also specialized schools. In New York, students are required to take the competitive Specialized High Schools Admissions Test prior to possible admittance to one of the schools.