The Biggest Changes for the 2026 Selective and OC Exams - A Parent’s Guide
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The NSW Department of Education has introduced two significant changes for students sitting the 2026 Selective and OC exams. These changes occur at both a policy level (impacting how students are selected) and a content level (what students are tested on).
This blog will explore these changes so that you are well equipped to support your children and help them secure a place at their dream school. We will also highlight Alpha One's proactive approach, including our updated curriculum that fully reflects these new requirements.
CHANGE 1: GENDER PARITY POLICY – WHAT PARENTS NEED TO KNOW
What Is the Change?
Starting with the 2026 placement test (for 2027 entry), most coeducational OC and Selective schools will implement a gender parity policy, reserving fifty per cent of places for boys and fifty per cent for girls. This policy addresses a historical gender gap, where boys have been overrepresented in selective schools and opportunity classes. It also aims to promote equity and diversity, ensuring girls have equal access to high-performing educational environments.
How It Works
After students complete the exam, they are ranked from highest to lowest score. The top-ranked students are allocated to schools according to their preferences, as long as places for their gender are still available. Once a school reaches its gender quota (for example, when all boys' places at a highly competitive school are filled), subsequent boys, even those with higher scores than girls, will be placed into their second-choice school. Meanwhile, if girls' places remain available, female students will continue to have access to that school.
What Does This Practically Mean for My Child?
For most schools, the gender parity adjustment has minimal effect. For instance, at a school with 120 places, the adjustment might only affect 5 to 6 places. This is equivalent to a very small difference in score (roughly half a mark to one mark) and usually does not significantly change a child's chances of admission.
Schools that have historically had a more uneven gender balance are likely to be the most affected by the new policy. In these cases, the impact will be felt mainly by students near the cut-off mark. By contrast, schools that usually have a more balanced gender composition are likely to see little overall change in admissions, assuming that this balanced gender pattern would have continued in the absence of the gender parity model.
What Does This Mean for Gender-Diverse Students?
Students who identify as gender-diverse can indicate this on their application. In such cases, the system treats them flexibly:
If a school has no more places for boys but still has places for girls, a gender-diverse student may take a girl's place.
Conversely, if there are no girls' places left but boys' places are available, they may take a boy's place.
This ensures that gender-diverse students are fairly considered and can still access schools based on available places.
What About Children on Reserve Lists?
The reserve lists are also gender-balanced. For example, if a school has forty reserve places, twenty will be allocated for boys and twenty for girls. This mirrors the main allocation process and maintains gender parity even for students on waitlists.
Key Takeaways
The most important point is that strong exam performance remains the key factor for successful admission. Parents should be aware of the gender parity policy, but for most families, the practical effect is small. This structural change is designed to balance the number of boys and girls across schools.
CHANGE 2: READING EXAM UPDATES – COLLOCATION TEXTS EXPLAINED
What Is the Change?
The Reading component of the Selective and OC exams will now include a new question type: collocation texts, starting in 2026.
How It Works
A collocation is a phrase or group of words that commonly occur together in English. These word combinations feel natural because they are repeatedly used in context across texts such as novels, films, and poems.
Collocation texts usually consist of a passage with missing words, where students must choose the most suitable word based on natural usage. For example, a passage might read:
“Little did they imagine they were ______ one of the world’s greatest sporting competitions.”
Students must choose the correct word based on natural usage, such as “inaugurating”, rather than options like “throning” or “consecrating.”
What Does This Practically Mean for My Child?
For most schools, the gender parity adjustment has minimal effect. For instance, at a school with 120 places, the adjustment might only affect 5 to 6 places. This is equivalent to a very small difference in score (roughly half a mark to one mark) and usually does not significantly change a child's chances of admission.
Only at highly competitive schools, such as Sydney Boys, Sydney Girls, Girraween, or Penrith, might the last few places for a particular gender be affected. For most other schools, this change will have little to no impact on admissions.
THE ALPHA ONE SOLUTION: NAVIGATING THE CHANGES WITH CONFIDENCE
At Alpha One, we adapt to these changes to give students the best chance of being fully prepared.
Updated Student Reports
Alpha One's Selective and OC Trial Exam Reports are now fully updated with the gender parity algorithm, providing the clearest understanding of where your child stands within their gender group. This allows parents to make better-informed decisions about their child's performance.
Click to check how our OCTT and STTC reports look like!
Curriculum Changes
We have created new Reading modules that focus on collocation texts. These modules teach students the reasoning behind word pairings and provide targeted practice with this new text type. This ensures that students are familiar with collocation questions before the exam, helping them approach these questions with confidence.
Key Takeaways
Despite these changes, strong performance remains essential for giving your child the best chance at their dream school. Alpha One's Selective and OC courses are updated and designed to provide students with opportunities to practise effectively before the real exam, ensuring they are fully prepared for 2026 and beyond.
With small class sizes (~8 students per class), expert tutors, and a proven track record, Alpha One continues to support students in achieving outstanding results. Want your child to experience the same success?
Claim a Free Trial today and see how Alpha One can make a difference.
