IGNITE registration: how do I register my child?
Independent. Not affiliated with the SA Department for Education, ACER or any IGNITE school.
How do I register my child for IGNITE?
You register online, on ACER's HAST portal, for one IGNITE school. Registrations open 2 November 20261Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published, for the assessment on 20 February 20271Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published.
Check eligibility before you start
At Glenunga, a Year 5 child needs a signed recommendation letter from their primary school principal, sent before registering1Glenunga · 13 October 2026 · Published. Country or interstate families should contact the school first. 1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published
Read ACER's Parent Guide
The Heights asks you to read every instruction, including the ACER Parent Guide, before you start2The Heights · 13 October 2026 · Published.
Pay the fee
Last round it was A$1502The Heights · 12 October 2026 · Published. School Card holders follow their school's rule, set out below.
Each school's IGNITE page explains the portal: Glenunga, The Heights and Aberfoyle Park.
When does IGNITE registration open and close?
Registrations open 2 November 20261Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published. The close date is not published1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Not published, and ACER says registration closing dates are set by each school5ACER HAST parents · 13 October 2026 · Published.
2 November 20261Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published
Registrations open
On ACER's HAST portal.
Not published1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Not published
Registrations close
by email in the week before the assessment1Glenunga · 13 October 2026 · Published
Student ID by email
From the school you registered with. 1Glenunga · 13 October 2026 · Published
20 February 20271Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published
The IGNITE assessment
At the school you registered with, unless you have approval to sit elsewhere.
The rule is no late applications1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published. Register early in the window, not on the last day.
Which IGNITE school should we register with?
Register with the school your child would most like to attend, because the test is sat there. Your child can sit only once, so this choice matters. 1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published
| Glenunga | The Heights | Aberfoyle Park | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where | 99 L'Estrange Street, Glenunga SA 50646Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published | Brunel Drive, Modbury Heights SA 50922The Heights · 12 October 2026 · Published | 36A Taylors Road, Aberfoyle Park SA 51597Aberfoyle Park · 12 October 2026 · Published |
| Program shape | an Accelerated Pathway and an Enrichment Pathway1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published from Year 8 | acceleration only in a few subjects, from the end of Year 94The Heights · 12 October 2026 · Published | Year 7 to Year 108Aberfoyle Park · 12 October 2026 · Published, with a two-year specialist music program8Aberfoyle Park · 12 October 2026 · Published |
| IGNITE places a year | Not published1Glenunga · 13 October 2026 · Not published | At most 602The Heights · 12 October 2026 · Published | Not published1Glenunga · 13 October 2026 · Not published |
| Zone | Ask the school | In or out of zone, up to 404The Heights · 12 October 2026 · Published places | open regardless of zone8Aberfoyle Park · 12 October 2026 · Published |
| IGNITE team | dl.0927.ignite@schools.sa.edu.au1Glenunga · 13 October 2026 · Published | dl.1430.ignite@schools.sa.edu.au2The Heights · 13 October 2026 · Published | APHS.Ignite447@schools.sa.edu.au8Aberfoyle Park · 13 October 2026 · Published |
Visit if you can. Aberfoyle Park is running an information evening for the 2028 intake (register interest on the school's site)8Aberfoyle Park · 13 October 2026 · Published.
Who can register for IGNITE?
Children in Year 6 at the time of the assessment1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published can register, once, at one school. Check each line before you start.
Your child is in Year 6 at the time of the assessment1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published.
Year 5 at Glenunga: a signed recommendation letter from their primary school principal, sent before registering1Glenunga · 13 October 2026 · Published.
Your family lives in Australia when the test is held: families must live in Australia1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published.
Contact the IGNITE team first if your child is one of the students on a subclass 500 visa who live and study in SA1Glenunga · 13 October 2026 · Published.
Your child hasn't sat IGNITE before. It's one school, one sitting1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published.
Registering late: no late applications1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published.
Can my child sit at their own primary school?
Sometimes. Country and interstate children may sit at their own primary school with principal approval1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published.
At The Heights, that works when the principal approves and a teacher there agrees to supervise2The Heights · 13 October 2026 · Published. Contact your chosen school before you register, so the approval is in place.
What does IGNITE registration cost?
Last round, registration cost A$1502The Heights · 12 October 2026 · Published. Refund and School Card rules differ by school, so read your school's rule before you pay.
| Glenunga | The Heights | |
|---|---|---|
| Refunds | partial refund only, after approval1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published | A$254The Heights · 12 October 2026 · Published fee before registrations close; A$504The Heights · 13 October 2026 · Published fee after |
| After the test | Ask the school | no refunds after the test date4The Heights · 13 October 2026 · Published |
| School Card holders | pay the full fee, then get a refund after registrations close1Glenunga · 13 October 2026 · Published | check eligibility with the school, which completes the registration without payment4The Heights · 13 October 2026 · Published |
The Heights figures are from last round, so check them when you register. For Aberfoyle Park, ask its IGNITE team about refunds and School Card.
How do we get ready between registering and test day?
Read the school's letter, pack a small kit and plan the morning. After you register, sample questions come with the registration letter4The Heights · 12 October 2026 · Published, and the student ID comes by email in the week before the assessment1Glenunga · 13 October 2026 · Published.
Pencils: two HB or 2B pencils9Brisbane State High · 13 October 2026 · Published, for the answer sheet.
Pens: two blue or black pens9Brisbane State High · 13 October 2026 · Published, for the writing paper.
Food: a snack and a water bottle9Brisbane State High · 13 October 2026 · Published for the break.
Your child won't need a dictionary, ruler, paper or calculator. 9Brisbane State High · 13 October 2026 · Published
Plan to arrive early. Late arrivals get in only at the supervisor's discretion, with no extra time9Brisbane State High · 13 October 2026 · Published.
Should we buy practice papers when we register?
You don't need to. ACER says past papers are not available5ACER HAST parents · 13 October 2026 · Published, and short-term training is unlikely to improve performance5ACER HAST parents · 13 October 2026 · Published.
If you'd like to see the format, ACER's bulletins have a small number of sample questions, free5ACER HAST parents · 13 October 2026 · Published. Its fuller sample booklet is sold in ACER's online shop5ACER HAST parents · 13 October 2026 · Published, as downloadable PDF files, not printed copies5ACER HAST parents · 13 October 2026 · Published.
ACER is not affiliated with any tutoring or coaching college5ACER HAST parents · 13 October 2026 · Published, and its practice material is only sold directly by ACER5ACER HAST parents · 13 October 2026 · Published. So take care with anything sold as an IGNITE past paper. See the official IGNITE samples.
How does registration work for families like ours?
Four common situations, with what the official rules say and where they stop.
A Year 5 child in Adelaide
Your child is in Year 5 in 2026, and you'd like Glenunga.
Register at Glenunga from 2 November 20261Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published. Your child sits there on 20 February 20271Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published, in Year 6.
A child ready to sit a year early
Your child will be in Year 5 at test time, and the teacher suggests sitting early.
At Glenunga, a Year 5 child needs a signed recommendation letter from their primary school principal, sent before registering1Glenunga · 13 October 2026 · Published. The rule is one school, one sitting1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published, so an early sitting uses the one attempt.
A family in country SA
You live far from every IGNITE school.
Your child may sit at their own primary school with principal approval1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published. At The Heights, that works when the principal approves and a teacher there agrees to supervise2The Heights · 13 October 2026 · Published.
What if something goes wrong?
Most problems go to the school you registered with. Portal problems go to ACER. When you write, give your child's name and the school you registered with.
What can't be known yet?
The close date is not published1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Not published. Whether your child gets an offer depends on that year's results, and a score needed for an offer is not published1Glenunga · 13 October 2026 · Not published.
Keep registration low-key for your child. They only need to know there is a test morning in February, and that it is one morning among many.
Questions parents ask about IGNITE registration
Can I register at two IGNITE schools?
No. The rule is one school, one sitting1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published, and your child sits the test at the school you most want1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published.
Do I register with ACER or with the school?
Both, in a way: you register on ACER's HAST portal and choose the school's IGNITE entry there. 3ACER · 12 October 2026 · Published
Can we register after the closing date?
No. The rule is no late applications1Glenunga · 12 October 2026 · Published.
When does the student ID arrive?
It comes by email in the week before the assessment1Glenunga · 13 October 2026 · Published. If it hasn't come a few days before the test, contact the school.
Who answers questions about our registration?
The school's IGNITE team: Glenunga at dl.0927.ignite@schools.sa.edu.au1Glenunga · 13 October 2026 · Published, The Heights at dl.1430.ignite@schools.sa.edu.au2The Heights · 13 October 2026 · Published, Aberfoyle Park at APHS.Ignite447@schools.sa.edu.au8Aberfoyle Park · 13 October 2026 · Published. We can't see or change any registration.