Step 1.

Attend a school tour. All families looking to enrol at Mac.Rob should attend a school tour, which are held in Terms 1 and 2. School tours are a great way to experience our school in action, to speak with current students and staff, and to see what our learning environment is like. If you live outside of the CBD, we recommend families travel to their school tour via public transport to better understand the sort of commute their child may take each day to and from school.

School tours are available from the beginning of Term 1 up until exam applications close. We encourage families to book early to avoid disappointment, as tours fill fast and we cannot guarantee that new tours will be added to the schedule to meet demand.

To book a school tour, please click here.

Step 2.

Attend the Enrolment Information Night. This event is held in Term 1 each year and is an opportunity for families thinking of enrolling at Mac.Rob to visit our school, hear more about our teaching and learning approach from school leaders, and meet current students to learn more about their experiences.

If you think you may be unable to attend a school tour in Term 2, the Enrolment Information Night is an invaluable opportunity to visit our school, and we encourage you to attend prior to registering for the entrance examination.

Step 3.

Apply to sit the entrance examination. If you wish your child to be considered for enrolment at Mac.Rob in Years 9, 10, or 11, they must first register to sit the entrance examination, which is held in the year prior to enrolling. For example, if you wished your child to enrol in 2025, they would need to sit the entrance exam in 2024.

The entrance examination tests students on a variety of subjects and skills, and is used to determine their suitability for a selective-entry learning environment. The examinations are conducted by ACER (Year 9) and EduTest (Years 10 and 11). Please note that we do not accept enrolments at Year 12 level. To learn more about the different entrance exams, please click here for Year 9, and here for Years 10 and 11.

Step 4.

Sit the entrance exam. Students sit the entrance examination in June for enrolment in the following year. The Year 9 entrance exam takes place at various locations around Melbourne, and families will be notified of their testing location, which is based on proximity to their home. The Year 10 and 11 examination takes place at Mac.Rob.

Both exams are administered by external assessors, and Mac.Rob does not have any influence in the administration, assessment, or outcome of exams. We encourage families to contact the individual exam providers for more information about them.

Enrolment for Years 10 and 11 is also based on a separate application and interview process. More information about this will be provided to families once their application has been received.

Step 5.

See if you receive an offer. Students that successfully complete the entrance examination and rank in the top percentile may be offered a place at Mac.Rob (or another of the selective entry schools, if they had other preferences). Offers for Year 9 are made based on the school preferences each student nominates when applying for enrolment. Offers for Years 10 and 11 are based on the outcome of the entrance exam, as well as an interview with school leaders.

We accept 300 students at Year 9 level each year. For Years 10 and 11, we only accept as many students as we have places available (generally 10 to 20). This number depends on how many students have exited the school; total place numbers vary year to year. In some years, there may be only 1 or 2, or none.

Offers are made in rounds, and the number of offers accepted in the preceding round affects the total number of offers made in subsequent rounds.

For example, Round 1 offers for Year 9 will have 300 offers, of which 250 are accepted. Round 2 will therefore have 50 offers.

Offers are made over multiple weeks (starting in July and running through to October), and conclude when all available places have been filled. It is not unusual for families to receive offers at any point during this timescale, and we encourage families to be patient when waiting to hear if they’ve been successful or not.

To learn more about the Year 9 exam application process, including the full range of eligibility requirements and discretionary categories, please see the Selective Entry High School Information Pack.