Academic placement at Tempe High School

Selective

Tempe High School is a partially selective high school, offering an academically focused pathway for students who qualify for entry into Year 7 through the Department of Education’s NSW Selective High School Placement Test.

The application process for entry into Years 8 to 11 at NSW selective and partially selective high school streams differs from the Year 7 process. Each selective school manages its own vacancies, assessments, and placement decisions.

For more information, see Selective high schools – Years 8 to 11 applications

Selective high schools are one of the ways that the Department of Education supports high potential and gifted students. These are students whose intellectual potential exceeds that of students of the same age.

What the Selective Stream Provides

• Differentiated and extended learning tasks.
• Faster pace of learning with increased academic challenge.
• Deeper conceptual understanding and higher-order thinking.
• Collaborative inquiry and problem-solving to support skills around teamwork.
• Academic peer grouping to support high-level engagement and motivation.
• Encouragement to take intellectual and creative risks.

Students in the selective stream learn within a supportive, structured, and intellectually stimulating environment that nurtures curiosity, confidence, and independent thinking. Teachers use evidence-informed strategies to extend student potential while also supporting their wellbeing.

Enrichment

The Enrichment Program at Tempe High School is designed for students who demonstrate high potential, strong learning behaviours, and readiness for advanced learning opportunities but who are not placed in the selective stream. This is a school based program that supports students whose strengths may appear across the four HPGE domains, such as intellectual, creative, physical, or social-emotional. It provides a structured environment where their abilities can be further developed.

Entry to Enrichment

Students are considered through a school based rigorous portfolio-based process, which includes:

• Academic achievement and progress.
• Personal strengths and learning behaviours.
• Creative, physical, or problem-solving capabilities.
• Evidence of high achievement, engagement and curiosity across learning domains.

What Enrichment Classes Provide

• Differentiated and extended learning tasks.
• Fast paced learning with opportunities for increased academic challenge.
• Inquiry-based learning, including innovation and design thinking.
• Increased expectations for independence and self-management.
• Collaborative problem-solving opportunities.
• Academic peer grouping to support high-level engagement and motivation.
• Encouragement to take intellectual and creative risks.

Movement between enrichment and mainstream classes is reviewed semesterly, it is transparent, flexible, and based on clear evidence, ensuring students are placed where they will thrive and continue to grow.

Mainstream

Mainstream education at Tempe High School offers a high-quality, inclusive learning pathway designed to support the academic, personal, and talent development needs of all students including those with high potential. Our mainstream classrooms deliver the full NSW curriculum through clear, structured, and explicit teaching that builds strong knowledge, essential skills, and positive learning behaviours.

We recognise that many high potential and gifted students thrive within a mainstream environment having access to meaningful challenges. Our teachers use evidence-informed strategies to extend students’ thinking, deepen understanding, and create opportunities for advanced learning within the core classroom program. This ensures that talent development is available to every student, regardless of class placement.

Mainstream education provides students with a balanced, supportive, and engaging pathway that builds confidence, independence, resilience, and readiness for senior school. Through consistent routines, high expectations, and purposeful learning opportunities, students develop the capabilities needed to succeed in Years 11 -12 and beyond.

What Mainstream Classes Provide

• Explicit, evidence-informed teaching that supports steady academic progress
• Differentiated learning tasks that meet students at their point of need
• Clear learning goals and success criteria to guide student understanding
• Regular formative assessment and feedback to support student improvement
• Opportunities for collaboration, inquiry, and real-world problem-solving to support skills around teamwork
• Development of core capabilities, including communication, critical thinking, digital literacy, and organisation
• Talent development embedded within mainstream practice, ensuring students have appropriate opportunities for extension

Support for Diverse Learners

Mainstream classrooms are designed to meet the needs of our diverse student community. Our focus is on ensuring that every student feels known, valued, and cared for to achieve their personal best.

Support may include:

• Learning support staff work alongside teachers to support students where needed
• EALD programs for students developing English language proficiency
• Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and personalised adjustments for students with additional learning needs
• Targeted intervention of students to strengthen and support their literacy, numeracy, and engagement with the curriculum