Scholarship test prep
ACER and EduTest scholarship preparation.
Year 7 and Year 9 scholarship exams open doors to Melbourne's top private schools - and a meaningful fee reduction for the next six years. Tuterly connects families with tutors who've prepared students for both major test formats and the school-specific entry exams that often sit alongside them. We pair 1-on-1 tutoring with structured daily practice through Educourse, our sister platform built specifically for this niche.
The tests
Two main formats - which one your child sits depends on the school.
ACER Scholarship Tests
Three papers - written expression, humanities (comprehension and interpretation), and mathematics. Used by Scotch College, Trinity Grammar, Genazzano, Loreto Mandeville Hall, Xavier, Haileybury and many others. Generally considered the harder of the two tests, particularly the humanities paper.
EduTest
Five sections - reading comprehension, mathematics, written expression, verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning - all under tight time limits. Used by Camberwell Grammar, Carey Baptist, Wesley, Caulfield Grammar, MLC and many others. Time pressure is the section most students underestimate.
Individual school entry exams
Some schools run their own admission process alongside ACER or EduTest, with school-specific essay prompts and maths problem sets. Worth practising for specifically if you've shortlisted a school - the question style varies meaningfully between schools.
When to start
Year-by-year timeline.
Year 4
Foundations year if you're aiming at Year 7 entry. Strong reading comprehension, mental arithmetic speed, and writing structure - all developed through normal schoolwork plus light supplementary practice. Specific test prep usually isn't needed yet.
Year 5
Begin specific test-style practice 12-18 months out from the exam. Once a week is plenty. Focus on building familiarity with the question types (reasoning sections in particular) before drilling speed.
Year 6
The intensive year. Most families step up to weekly tutoring plus daily practice from January through to the test date (usually February-May depending on the school). The combination of 1-on-1 work on weak areas + daily structured drilling is what moves scores most.
What works
Four things that move scholarship scores most.
Past papers under timed conditions
Most students lose marks not because they don't know the material, but because they panic at the time pressure. Sitting practice papers with a real timer running is the single most useful prep activity in the last 8 weeks.
Written expression feedback
The section schools weight most heavily - and the one that's hardest to self-improve. Children need their writing read by someone who can articulate why it works or doesn't. This is where a tutor adds more value than any self-study platform.
Daily question drills, not weekly cramming
Verbal and numerical reasoning improve through pattern recognition built up over months of consistent exposure. Twenty-five minutes a day for three months beats two hours a week.
Mock interviews (for scholarship rounds)
Most scholarship offers include an interview with the school. The kids who do well are the ones who've practised - articulating interests, recovering from a curveball question, looking the interviewer in the eye. A handful of practice runs makes a real difference.
Sample report
A sample scholarship session report.
What a Year 6 scholarship-prep parent receives after every session. Topic confidence on the four exam sections, areas to focus on for the week ahead, and practice questions at three difficulty tiers.
Included with Tuterly
Discounted Educourse - Australia's #1 selective entry & scholarship platform.
Every Tuterly customer gets discounted access to Educourse, the leading Australian platform for scholarship and selective entry preparation - from the same team behind Tuterly. Pair daily Educourse practice with a Tuterly tutor and your child has structured drilling all week plus 1-on-1 guidance to debrief what's still confusing.
- ✓Full mock exams under timed conditions
- ✓Daily question drills sorted by topic and difficulty
- ✓Worked solutions so your child can self-mark and identify weak areas
Start scholarship preparation.
Browse Tuterly tutors who've prepared students for ACER, EduTest, and individual-school entry exams. Pair with Educourse for daily structured practice.
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