Victoria's SEAL schools do not share a single exam. They use one of three different tests — and preparing for the wrong one wastes months.
A Select Entry Accelerated Learning (SEAL) program is a streamed program in a Victorian government secondary school for academically able students. Students typically cover Year 8 material in Year 7 and can complete secondary schooling in five years rather than six.
More than forty accredited schools run one. Entry is competitive: students sit an entrance test in Year 6 for a Year 7 place the following year. The Victorian Department of Education stopped accrediting SEAL schools in 2014, and the SEAL Academy has operated its own accreditation scheme since — which is part of why the programs vary so much between schools.
There is no single SEAL exam. Each school chooses its own test provider, and there are three in common use across Victoria: EduTest, ACER's Higher Ability Selection Test (HAST), and Academic Assessment Services (AAS).
They are genuinely different tests — different sections, different timing, different question styles. HAST includes an Abstract Reasoning section built entirely on diagram patterns; EduTest has separate Verbal and Numerical Reasoning sections; AAS folds verbal, figural and numerical reasoning into one combined section. Practising the wrong format is not neutral, it is wasted preparation.
The same school can also use different providers at different year levels. The only reliable way to find out is to ask the school directly or check its enrolment page — do not assume it matches a neighbouring school.
SEAL entrance tests are generally held between late July and the end of August, for entry the following year. Applications close weeks earlier — often mid-July — and each school sets its own dates, registration deadline and interview schedule.
One rule catches families out: government schools may only test students who have already been offered a place at that school, so SEAL testing cannot happen before the state-wide Year 7 placement offers are released. That compresses the timeline considerably, which is why preparation needs to start well before the test dates are announced.
Because every school publishes its own dates, always confirm against your school's enrolment page rather than a generic calendar.
Being straight about this matters more than making a sale, because buying the wrong preparation costs you time you cannot get back.
Find out your school's provider first — everything else depends on it. Then work the sections that are unfamiliar rather than the ones your child already enjoys, because reasoning sections are where most of the separation happens and none of them are taught directly at school.
Mocky generates a fresh test every time rather than drawing from a fixed bank, so a child can practise repeatedly without memorising the questions, with instant scoring and worked explanations.
No. Each school chooses its own provider — EduTest, ACER HAST or AAS are all in common use, and the same school may use different providers at different year levels. Ask your school directly or check its enrolment page.
Generally between late July and the end of August, for entry the following year, with applications closing weeks earlier. Each school sets its own dates, so confirm against your school's enrolment page.
Students sit it in Year 6, competing for a Year 7 place the following year.
No. Mocky does not generate Abstract Reasoning questions, which make up 30 of HAST's multiple-choice questions. Reading Comprehension, mathematical problem solving and Written Expression practice all transfer, but you will need a separate source for Abstract Reasoning.
No, and they're often confused. SEAL is a Year 7 accelerated program at 40+ government schools, entered by a test sat in Year 6. Selective entry refers to Victoria's four selective high schools — Melbourne High, Mac.Robertson Girls', Nossal and Suzanne Cory — entered at Year 9 via a single common exam sat in Year 8.
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