Scholarship test prep
ACER and EduTest scholarship preparation.
Year 7 and Year 9 scholarship tests can open the door to a Melbourne private school, and to a fee reduction for the years that follow. This guide covers the two main test formats, when to start, and what helps most. It also explains where Tuterly, our Years 7 to 10 maths app, fits in: the school maths side of things, for students already in secondary school.
Free practice: try 10 scholarship-style numerical reasoning questions for Years 4, 5 and 6, marked with worked solutions. Start the practice questions →
The tests
Two main formats. Which one your child sits depends on the school.
Schools choose their own test and their own dates, and both can change from year to year, so check with each school you’ve shortlisted.
ACER Scholarship Tests
Three papers: written expression, humanities (comprehension and interpretation), and mathematics. Used by many Melbourne independent schools for scholarships and entry.
EduTest
Five sections: reading comprehension, mathematics, written expression, verbal reasoning and numerical reasoning, all under tight time limits. Time pressure is the part many 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, because the question style varies between schools.
When to start
Year-by-year timeline.
Year 4
Foundations year if you’re aiming at Year 7 entry. Strong reading comprehension, quick mental arithmetic and clear writing structure, all built through normal schoolwork plus some light extra practice. Specific test prep usually isn’t needed yet.
Year 5
Start test-style practice 12 to 18 months out from the exam. Once a week is plenty. Focus on getting familiar with the question types (the reasoning sections in particular) before working on speed.
Year 6
The busiest year for Year 7 entry. Many families add weekly tutoring and regular practice from January through to the test date, which depends on the school. Check each school’s dates early.
Aiming for Year 9 entry instead? The same pattern applies two years later, so the test-style practice falls in Years 7 and 8. That’s also when strong school maths matters, and where Tuterly can help.
What works
Four things worth doing.
Past papers under timed conditions
Plenty of students lose marks not because they don’t know the material, but because the time pressure throws them. Sitting practice papers with a real timer running is one of the most useful things to do in the last couple of months.
Written expression feedback
Written expression is hard to improve alone. Children need their writing read by someone who can explain why it works or doesn’t. This is where a tutor or teacher is hard to replace, and an app can’t do it.
Regular practice, not weekly cramming
Verbal and numerical reasoning come from recognising patterns, built up over months of steady exposure. Short, regular practice suits that better than one long session a week.
Mock interviews (for scholarship rounds)
Many scholarship rounds include an interview with the school. Practising helps: talking about their interests, handling an unexpected question, looking the interviewer in the eye. A few practice runs with a parent or tutor are worth doing.
Where Tuterly fits
The maths part, honestly.
Every scholarship test has a maths section, and it builds on school maths. For a student in Years 7 or 8 heading towards a Year 9 scholarship test, Tuterly keeps the maths they learn in class solid, one wrong question at a time. It doesn’t replace test-style practice, and it doesn’t touch the other sections.
What it covers
- Years 7 to 10 school maths, with topics from the Victorian Curriculum 2.0
- Snap a maths question they got wrong, see the worked solution, then master fresh versions of it
- Topic check: a short test on any maths topic in their year
- Study notes: a revision sheet on a topic, as a PDF
What it doesn’t
- Verbal or numerical reasoning, reading comprehension, humanities or written expression
- Timed scholarship papers or exam technique. It isn’t a test-prep course
- Primary school maths, so it isn’t built for Year 5 and 6 students sitting Year 7 entry tests
Cost: a private tutor in Melbourne usually costs $80 to $100 an hour. Tuterly is $8.99 a week or $29.99 a month at the launch price (from 1 April 2027, $17.99 a week or $59.99 a month), with a 7-day free trial on the monthly plan only, cancel any time. It’s coming to the App Store on iPhone first. Android coming soon.
Keep their school maths solid, one question at a time.
Tuterly turns every missed maths question into practice tailored towards the student, not just a generic worksheet.
Coming soon on iPhone. Android soon after.