Skip to main content
South Australia · Department for Education · Special Interest Schools · HAST Entry

IGNITE Program Preparation for South Australian Specialised Public Secondary Schools

IGNITE program preparation for the three Department for Education Special Interest secondary schools in South Australia — Glenunga International High School, The Heights School and Aberfoyle Park High School. Coverage spans the HAST and ACER IGNITE assessment formats used for Year 7 (and limited Year 5) entry into Adelaide's accelerated gifted-and-talented streams.

Browse mock packs

3 IGNITE schools · Year 7 entry (Year 5 at Glenunga) · zone-free · public-school fees

What happens after you request a trial

During Sydney business hours (Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm AEST/AEDT) the head tutor calls you back within 15 minutes. After hours, we call you back within 2 hours.

  • Who you'll speak with. The head tutor calls you directly to talk through where your child is up to.
  • What the call covers.Your child's year level, the exam you're preparing for, and how a free trial lesson would fit around your week.
  • If your child isn't ready.We'll tell you honestly. Not every child needs coaching, and we'd rather say so than enrol a child who isn't ready.
About the exam

The IGNITE test, in plain language.

IGNITE is the umbrella name for the Department for Education (South Australia) full-time gifted and high-ability programs at three designated Special Interest public secondary schools. Unlike state-wide selective school systems in NSW or Victoria, IGNITE is school-based — each program runs an independent cohort with its own curriculum philosophy, intake size and application process administered through the ACER IGNITE portal.

The Year 6 to Year 7 entry pathway is the primary intake for all three programs. Glenunga International also accepts a small number of Year 5 applications by principal recommendation. Programs are zone-free — any South Australian resident may apply — and operate inside standard public-school fees rather than as a fee-paying selective system. Students sit either the four-component ACER HAST paper or the dedicated ACER IGNITE assessment used by The Heights, with results referenced to a high-ability cohort. Families may only lodge a single IGNITE application per cycle through the ACER portal, so program selection is made before any assessment is sat.

Test dates

IGNITE applications open in November or December each year, with the registration window closing in early February. Assessments are held in late February and March for entry the following year. Results are released approximately 9 to 10 weeks after sitting — typically in May — with acceptance deadlines in June. There are no make-up sittings; missing the scheduled assessment forfeits the application for that cycle.

Scoring & cutoffs

HAST results are reported as raw scores, standardised scores, percentiles and stanines relative to a high-ability reference cohort rather than the general population. The three IGNITE schools do not publish exact cut-offs because they vary annually with the applicant pool, but competitive performance typically sits at or above the 85th percentile across all four components, with the most contested places at Glenunga and The Heights commonly drawn from the 90th percentile and above. Schools also consider the application portfolio, school reports and (at Glenunga Year 5) principal recommendation when ranking applicants.

  • Reading Comprehension

    30–40 min25–35

    Multiple-choice items across fiction, non-fiction and visual texts. Tests inference, vocabulary in context and main-idea identification at a level pitched above standard Year 6 curriculum reading.

  • Mathematical Reasoning

    30–40 min25–35

    Multiple-choice problem-solving without calculators. Focused on number, pattern, ratio, geometry and measurement reasoning rather than school-curriculum recall.

  • Abstract Reasoning

    30 min30

    Visual pattern recognition, sequences and matrices. Language-independent and the component most commonly under-practised by Year 6 students new to ability testing.

  • Written Expression

    25–30 min1

    A single extended creative or discursive response, marked by two independent ACER markers against thought, structure, expression and mechanics. Third marking applied when markers disagree by more than two raw-score points.

Live tuition

IGNITE tuition, taught for the exam.

Small-group online classes taught by exam specialists. Every program below is built specifically for the IGNITE exam — not generic tutoring repackaged for the test.

Most chosen

IGNITE

Schedule
Hybrid
Group size
Small-group tutoring
From
$99

The most comprehensive IGNITE test preparation package for South Australia students. Designed for gifted and talented program entry with advanced practice materials.

Premium Pack · Ultimate Pack · Super Pack

Mock test packs

IGNITE mock packs, currently on sale.

Self-paced practice papers, marked on the BrainTree LMS within 48 hours. Buy once, sit whenever — every pack ships with cohort percentiles and section-level feedback.

IGNITE results and parent testimonial

3

IGNITE placements since 2019

Audited annually. Methodology is public — see the journal for the breakdown by school.

“Our daughter sat the ACER HAST for Glenunga IGNITE in February. The structured six-month plan — wide reading, daily abstract-reasoning matrices and monthly full mocks against the official ACER sample paper — meant test day felt familiar rather than novel. She was offered a place in May.”

Priya M.

Parent, Year 6 student (Adelaide, SA)

FAQ

IGNITE, plainly answered.

Five questions our faculty fields most often about the IGNITE exam.

IGNITE is the South Australian Department for Education's full-time gifted-and-talented secondary program offered at three designated Special Interest public schools — Glenunga International High School, The Heights School and Aberfoyle Park High School. The program provides a dedicated accelerated cohort with curriculum typically pitched one to two years ahead of standard Year 7 to Year 12 content, specialised gifted-education pedagogy and a peer group of similarly identified high-ability learners. IGNITE operates within standard public-school fees rather than as a fee-paying selective system and is zone-free across South Australia.

Three South Australian public schools run IGNITE programs. Glenunga International High School (eastern Adelaide) has the largest intake at approximately 100 students per year and accepts both Year 7 and Year 5 entry, the latter by principal recommendation. The Heights School (north-eastern Adelaide) accepts approximately 60 students annually and is the only IGNITE school using ACER's dedicated IGNITE assessment rather than HAST. Aberfoyle Park High School (southern Adelaide) operates a more flexible intake with an integrated curriculum and music-specialisation strand. Each school publishes its own assessment date and application timeline through the ACER IGNITE portal.

Applications are lodged through the ACER IGNITE application portal at igniteassessment.acer.org. Families may apply to one IGNITE school per cycle — multiple simultaneous applications are not permitted. The application involves completing an online form, uploading supporting documents (school reports, birth certificate, proof of residence and, for Glenunga Year 5 entry, a principal recommendation), paying the assessment fee, and attending the scheduled HAST or IGNITE assessment in late February or March. Assessment fees are A$145 to A$155 in the 2026 cycle, with a partial refund of approximately A$20 to A$25 for School Card holders.

IGNITE applications typically open in November or December for entry the following year. The registration deadline is early February, assessment sittings run in late February and March, results are released 9 to 10 weeks after sitting (commonly in May), and acceptance deadlines fall in June. Schools sometimes cap applications, so early registration is recommended. Exact dates vary by school each year and are published on the ACER IGNITE portal and individual school websites in October and November.

No. Only one IGNITE application may be lodged per cycle through the ACER portal — families nominate Glenunga International, The Heights or Aberfoyle Park at the time of application and cannot change the selection after submission or apply to multiple schools simultaneously. If unsuccessful, the family may reapply to the same or a different IGNITE school in a subsequent cycle, though most entry remains at the Year 7 level and later-year intakes have very limited places.

Glenunga International High School and Aberfoyle Park High School use the ACER HAST (Higher Ability Selection Test) for IGNITE entry. The Heights School uses the dedicated ACER IGNITE assessment, which is structurally similar but separately calibrated. Both assessments are paper-based, run approximately 2 to 3 hours of testing time, are administered by ACER on a scheduled date, and report results against a high-ability reference cohort. Calculators are not permitted in the mathematical-reasoning component of either assessment.

The IGNITE schools do not publish fixed score cut-offs because the threshold moves annually with the strength of the applicant pool. As a working guide, competitive performance typically sits at or above the 85th percentile relative to the HAST high-ability reference cohort across all four components, with the most contested places at Glenunga and The Heights commonly drawn from the 90th percentile and above. Strong, balanced performance across reading, mathematical reasoning, abstract reasoning and written expression matters more than a single high component score.

Yes. IGNITE programs are zone-free — students from anywhere in South Australia, including regional centres such as Gawler, Murray Bridge, Victor Harbor, Port Augusta, Whyalla and Mount Gambier, may apply. Families considering enrolment from outside metropolitan Adelaide need to plan commute time, transport options and whether a daily round trip is sustainable across six years of Year 7 to Year 12 study; some regional families arrange accommodation with relatives or homestay placements. Regional applicants are not penalised in the assessment or ranking.

IGNITE is delivered inside the standard South Australian public-school system, so there is no additional tuition fee beyond the regular materials and services charge published by each school. Families pay the assessment fee at application (A$145 to A$155, partially refunded for School Card holders), then ongoing costs typical of public secondary schooling — school uniforms, textbooks, excursion levies and any optional activity charges. There is no premium fee attached to the IGNITE stream itself.

Effective IGNITE preparation usually runs across six to twelve months and moves through three phases. Foundations (months 1 to 4) — wide reading across fiction, non-fiction and visual texts, daily mental-math fluency, weekly exposure to abstract-reasoning matrices, and a short weekly writing task. Component practice (months 4 to 8) — weekly timed sets across each HAST component with structured error analysis on incorrect answers and rubric-based feedback on Written Expression. Full mocks (final 8 weeks) — monthly full-length, ACER-format mock papers under exam timing, focused on stable pacing rather than score-chasing. Official ACER HAST sample booklets are the source-of-truth timing and content benchmark.

Start IGNITE preparation this week.

Book a free trial lesson in the IGNITE stream. Sit a diagnostic in the same week. No card, no obligation. Or grab a mock pack and start practising tonight.

Or buy a mock pack now