Hi there 2B, welcome to BoS!
For your application for Hurlstone, I recommend sending in your half-yearly report that you should've received recently last term and if you like, your yearly report from last year. NAPLAN and ESSA results would also be good to add in as well as any other awards/certificates you feel are relevant, this includes ICAS competitions and extra-curricular stuff!
From what I remember, the entrance exam for Hurlstone consisted of a single booklet with multiple sections, and you're given I think 90 minutes (not sure exactly) or something like that to do the entire thing. Some tips for the sections:
Science
This is probably the very first thing you'll come across but you don't necesarily need to start on the first page. They'll most likely give you a common experiment where you may need to fill in some of the blanks (i.e. write the method, draw the diagram, conclusion). There'll definitely be some question in this section asking you to interpret a graph or table, so it's important to know this. Use pencil for drawing diagrams or graphs. Even if you are 100% sure you wont make a mistake, just do it.
Maths
In this section, you'll probably be given questions which are usually written in scenarios; usually related to agriculture.
If Sam has 20 chickens, and one chicken produces 6 eggs a week, how many...... that kind of question but obviously not as simple
.
The questions might also come in where they give you a geometrical shape and you have to find x length or area or something similar. I really do recommend spending time practising questions on topics like algebra, trig and probability, but don't limit yourself to only these. Also good to revise over your year 9 content but really you should focus on mainly what you've learnt this year.
English
Ah yes, here you are given a text which you read and answer questions based on it and from memory, a stimulus (related to agriculture) which you then compose a response to (could be an essay, a narrative or something of the likes, but it's usually unlikely that they'll make you do the latter). Ensure you've got enough time for this section to at least plan out your structure and write the majority of it (if not all).
Some tips for the entrance exam:
- Always use pencil for drawing graphs, tables or diagrams in the science section and label what you draw!
- Again, please please please revise well on the content you've learned this year and late last year for maths.
- Time management is key as you may find that you won't have time to spare; bad idea to have to go to the bathroom so don't get stuck in that situation because they won't give you extra time. Wear a watch if you have one and allow yourself leeway to arrive.
- Basically its about preparation and this includes eating well and sleeping enough before the exam.
I think Year 11 in Hurlstone for 2016 only offers 3 spots but don't let that deter you from trying out. You can find all the necessary files on their website. Also I think they've made agriculture compulsory as a HSC topic if you enter in Year 11 so you should consider that as well.
This is all from my own experience, but I definitely recommend taking a look at this
thread courtesy of RivalryofTroll.
Any questions, feel free to PM me or post them up in this thread. Best of luck!
