BANANA hi so I did the exam this year and was successful in getting an offer to suzzane.
Math- focus on mastering all topics in the yr 8 curriculum, don't go overboard and study like calculus, some main topics that were on the test was Number, Algebra, Measurement, Geometry, statistics and probability. Make sure to master all these topics and familiarise yourself with hard questions relating to those. Somethings that came up a lot in the test was Venn diagrams and also questions relating to circles(arcs, area, sectors diameters). Also study reflections and linear graphs. I recommend do a hard question log book, and in the last weeks focus on your weaknesses
Quantitive- A bit like math but easier in my opinion, just focus on doing lots of practise test and making sure you know all the question types. Make sure your doing a lot of patterns questions like Fibonacci ,Square Number, Geometric Sequence: Multiply or divide by the same value each time (e.g., 3, 6, 12, 24 → multiply by 2), Arithmetic Sequence: Add or subtract the same value each time (e.g., 2, 5, 8, 11 → add 3). Also if numbers are scaling down by a lot that means they are likely being divided, scaling up a lot they are getting multiplied, try to find the differences between each number and find something common.
Reading Comp- Naturally I always found reading comp easy but some tips would be to read a lot of books, do a lot of practise test that you can find scattered across this forum, and throughly analyse your mistakes( do this with each section), focus on reading on variety of books, and in the test, I dont know how to explain this but dont focus too much will reading tests, focusing too hard on the words can make your mind skip over the underlying message of the test. For long passages always read the question first then read the passage. One tip I have is if they first question asks about the tone or message of text skip the question and come back after you answer all the questions, answering all the other questions helps you have an better understanding of the text, helping you judge the tone or message of a text. An actual text that came up this year and for the past 2 years has been Tattoo by Ted Kooser
Verbal Reasoning- Vocab is the key to succeed in this section . Have a work book dedicated to vocab and use Baron's 1100 words you need to know, I used this book to get a superior in the rc/vr section and you can find it online for free. Practise syllogism and synonyms and antonym for words, do a lot of mock tests and focus on time management. Some actual vocab words that came up on the test included curtail, discern, edict, curb, discern, and ovation.
Writing- Writing is the most important section, there are two pieces( persuasive and creative) that you have to write in 40 mins, for persuasive focus on using TEEL for body paragraphs, a rebuttal , intro and conclusion, make sure to use a call to action in conclusion and hook in your intro, make sure to do lots of pieces and get comfortable writing in intense time limits. Structure is very important, and PLEASE make sure to anyalse your pieces and actually improve. For creative writing, make sure you write on topic about your prompt and make your piece unique, as markers correct thousands of pieces, and make sure your piece sticks in their minds, use show not tell, use good vocab, and try not leave on a cliffhanger as it is seen as a cliche ending. Try to use different prompts( Picture prompts, 2 words prompts, multiple pictures, etc)
Extra Tips- On the day make sure you go to the toilet and have a nutritious breakfast that keeps you full, focus on being calm , as being nervous will ruin months of hard prep. Make sure you FILL in all the question bubbles and leave nothing blank, guess if you have to. The day before DONT study, rest your brain, and dont worry about the test, try to get 9 hours of sleep, and you can even watch a light hearted movie with your family or yourself. Dont stay up late scrolling. At the end of the day selective School isn't everything, and remember you're doing this for yourself. For anyone curious I got 1 sup in rc/vr and top 20 in everything else.
Resource- https://www.contoureducation.com.au/events/2026-vse-simulation-resources?utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8Yv2pDNejprm66LY_3Z4XW1f4-ct8mbSGyHhxd0gO1lZ_3s7q8IuR8SVyknFY3C7cuDQejjTjzCl1pIEkUBEMG_2U8gQ&_hsmi=28310120&utm_content=28310120&utm_source=hs_automation. I found this after the test ðŸ˜, but im pretty sure this includes real full contour mock tests with video explanations and mastery courses.
Good luck to aspiring candidates hopefully this guide helps you ace the exam next year. omd I wrote so much
