National Education > Selective Schools Admissions Tests
DETAILED: Elizabeth Blackburn School of Sciences Entrance [Yr 11&12] Guide 2020
Di.dact:
Updated 2020 guide to Elizabeth Blackburn School of Sciences. Student's perspective. The school/program went through a rebranding so now called Elizabeth Blackburn Sciences.
Exam Date: ??
Hey guys, I am a year 11 student at EBSS in 2018. I will be splitting this guide into 4 parts so feel free to skip to the ones you’re interested in.
1. EBSS as a whole, what, how, experience so far and why you should come.
2. Test guide and thoughts
3. Interview guide/tips
4. Application for year 12
Elizabeth Blackburn School of Sciences is a 'selective school' with a heavy emphasis on science-related VCE subjects. EBSS only facilitates year 11&12’s. So, it’s basically a 'VCE selective school'. One thing to note is that there is a compulsory subject that all students must complete in year 11; ‘Extended Investigation’. Note, if applying for year 12 Extended Investigation is not compulsory. I would recommend that if you want to attend you must be prepared to do EI or at least be prepared to carry your score with the other subjects provided. EI classes have been quite interesting, after a term of devising a question and completing a SAC, EI provides free periods if your SAC is prepared(all sacs are take home and hand in), not really any homework other than work on research and classes are just their to receive feedback so lots of leeway is given. EI is probably not for everyone so the subject might be a deal breaker for those wanting to attend. Another note is the subjects. It is compulsory to do Math Methods & Specialist, 2 sciences, Extended Investigation and a choice of any English even English as an additional language [After experiencing a semester of EBSS, subjects selection is very interchangeable with the exception of the compulsory EBSS subjects; Psychology, I.T. Informatics, humanities and language-based subjects are also offered as 3/4's] . In addition, these subjects are taught in a different way. The teaching system as a whole is quite different from other schools. Students learn from lectures and come in casual clothes. The year levels are also quite small ranging from 40-80. This year only 40~ students chose to enter in year 11 with some leaving after learning about EI. But, the school has the capacity to hold 100 students per year level. So, if you have a group of friends from other schools wanting to learn science this might be your gold mine. The location of the school is in Parkville, behind Royal Melbourne Hospital and across the road from Melbourne University. The transport to and from the school might take time out of your VCE studies so if you’re not able to make that adjustment it wouldn’t be worth attending. I devised some questions you should ask yourself before applying.
• Am I willing to do Extended Investigation? Please read the VCAA study design before answering this question
• Will I be able to cope with the subjects?
• Will the travel time be worth?
If you answered yes to all the questions I’d highly recommend that you apply. However, if you said no to either it might not be advisable, but if you’re willing no one is stopping you.
Exam Guide:
There are 5 parts to the exam; verbal reasoning, science reasoning, reading comprehension, mathematics and writing.
Verbal reasoning: [50 questions, 30 minutes] understanding of syntax, vocabulary and grammar as a whole are the main topics for the exam.
Science reasoning: [30 questions, 30 minutes] mainly biology and chemistry, includes a bit of physics and psychology. I recommend completing the pearson 9&10 textbooks. Note: Exact same exam as year 11 JMSS exam so if you happen to be applying for both, it's the exact same.
Reading Comprehension: [40 questions, 30minutes] grammar analysis, punctuation, analysing text. I recommend just completing reading comprehension books to revise your knowledge.
Mathematics: [60 questions, 30 minutes] quadratics, trigonometry, nonlinear and linear concepts, proportion, geometry, circle geometry and mensuration. I'd recommend having the knowledge for each of these topics.
Writing: [15 minutes] topic; What do you want to do in the future, why and how can EBSS assist? They also included a picture of Elizabeth Blackburn and information about her life and achievements.
My results: 1 superior VR, 2 above averages for RC&M and 1 high average for science. I have no clue what happened to the writing assessment, it wasn’t even mentioned in the interview. Still, it’s probably a determining factor for an interview as some people did not get any superiors.
How I prepared:
Science - I did the JMSS entrance exam (it’s a really good practice exam).
Mathematics - learnt all the year 10 material
Verbal Reasoning and Reading Comprehension - practice tests online (edutest)
Writing - Referred to the 2015 EBSS guide and prepared 3 paragraphs. There are only 15 minutes so practice writing your paragraphs at that time.
Interview:
After the exam all applicants will be emailed their results and whether they got an interview. Those who do receive an email will receive an interview time and subject selection sheet. Please fill it in before coming to the interview, if you’re learning a language outside of school please write it on the form. Clothing should either be your school uniform or something casual.
The interview consisted of 5 questions:
1. Why do you want to come to EBSS?
2. What field of science are you interested in?
3. What subjects are you taking? - refer to subject selection sheet
4. What Extended Investigation topic do you think you’ll do?
5. Do you have any questions?
Try to get the interviewer to write a lot about you to prepare a minimum of 2 sentences for each question. Prepare for each of these questions especially 4, they might ask you “Why did you choose that question?”
Year 12 Update:
After communicating with a year 12 student who entered EBSS in year 12, he said the exams were easy. Most likely the same topics for year 11 for both the maths & reading comprehension. The writing tasks are also exactly the same for year 10 & 11, so prepare for the one above. Additionally, quite a few students got into EBSS in year 12, 2018 at least 3. However, for those applying for year 12 in 2019, they’ll most likely accept up to 20 students based on the small amount this year. Important: Extended Investigation is not compulsory in year 12, but your unit 1&2 subjects must align with EBSS subjects.
Once again, good luck to all those studying for the exam in July. I hope to see many of you at the symposium :).
Shoutout to my fellow classmates for any confirmations.
Thank you so much for reading this guide, feel free to message me if you have any concerns and I look forward to meeting some of you in 2019. I’ll try my best to reply to as many comments and concerns.
Website: http://www.elizabethblackburnsciences.com.au/
hegihugo:
Jeez, thanks for all the info! It's really gonna help.
:)
Di.dact:
--- Quote from: Reeva.xx on April 14, 2018, 10:04:04 pm ---Ok so my test for this is in a year and 3 months and I’m not motivated or smart do u think I will get in if I start it study everyday and become smarter. Should I also do the normal edu kingdom plz reply. Also I’m going to buy the year 10 Cambridge book is that going to help
--- End quote ---
Hi Reeva,
This is Di.dact and I'd say you don't have to study that hard for EBSS. However, it depends on the number of people who apply. For my year level 120~ students applied about 80 got an interview and only 40 decided to go through with the course. The EBSS exam is fairly simple if you understand all of the year 10 concepts for both Maths and English (grammar and understanding), so I highly recommend that you complete the Cambridge book, but an even better option would be to start the Methods 1&2 Cambridge book if possible. The EBSS writing is the main part of the examination which most likely determines if you receive an interview, so focus on establishing a prepared writing piece based on the topic stated above. Another note is a lot of the students who are attending EBSS did not get superiors on the exams but it is still important to aim for at least high averages. Also, a lot of people are thrown off by the subject Extended Investigation so a fair warning would be too look the subject up beforehand so that you're not shocked by the symposium (day where successful applicants visit the school and see what the year 11 student's are researching, through oral presentations and posters). Anyway, you should be fine if you're using Atarnotes in year 9 and are going to do the year 10 book. I personally, found tutors like James An and Edukingdom useless but if you want extra practice you should go for it.
Sorry for the late reply and I hope you study hard and get into EBSS!
Regards, Di.dact
Aanchal:
is there also numerical reasoning ?
Di.dact:
--- Quote from: Aanchal on May 17, 2018, 05:27:10 pm ---is there also numerical reasoning ?
--- End quote ---
Nope only the topics stated above are included.
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