NSW Selective reserve list tracker: when will the offer arrive?
Braintree Coaching Australia tracks the NSW Selective reserve list week by week. Choose your child's reserve band and see the exact week families in the same band received their offer in prior years, school by school. Updated weekly from the NSW Department of Education's published status.
Quick answer
The NSW Selective Schools reserve list is the ranked queue the NSW Department of Education uses to fill places that offered families decline, worked through in reserve-band order. Band A families have historically been contacted first — often within the opening two weeks of the round — with each lower band waiting progressively longer. Choose your reserve band below to see the exact week families in that band received their offer in prior years, school by school.
- Schools tracked
- 44/ 47 selective
- Reserve bands
- A–F
- Last sync
- Next update
- Monday
These figures cover the 2027 entry round, mirrored from the NSW Department of Education's published reserve-list status. Mirrored weekly from the admin-maintained reserve-list app during the placement round; admins confirm provenance in the reserve-list manager.
When did families like yours get the call?
The band predictor matches your child's reserve band against the NSW Department of Education's published offer history for your chosen school. Pick your child's school of preference and current reserve band to see the exact week same-band families received their offer in prior rounds.
Pick your reserve band on the left. Your offer timeline appears here.
How far down the reserve list has each school reached for 2027 entry?
A reserve-list timeline records the deepest reserve band each NSW selective school has reached at every weekly snapshot. It covers every fully and partially selective school in NSW, newest reading on the left.
- Schools tracked
- 44/ 47 selective
- Active this week
- 0
- Deepest band reached
- —
- Updated
Movement vs last week
Schools tracked and weekly readings for 2027 entry are mirrored from the NSW Department of Education's published reserve-list status. Mirrored weekly from the admin-maintained reserve-list app during the placement round; admins confirm provenance in the reserve-list manager.
| Selective high school | Latest |
|---|---|
| James Ruse Agricultural High SchoolTop-demand schoolFully selective | No reading |
| North Sydney Boys High SchoolTop-demand schoolFully selective | No reading |
| Baulkham Hills High SchoolFully selective | No reading |
| Hornsby Girls High SchoolFully selective | No reading |
| North Sydney Girls High SchoolFully selective | No reading |
| Sydney Girls High SchoolFully selective | No reading |
| Normanhurst Boys High SchoolFully selective | No reading |
| Sydney Boys High SchoolFully selective | No reading |
| Northern Beaches Secondary College - Manly CampusFully selective | No reading |
| Fort Street High SchoolFully selective | No reading |
| Girraween High SchoolFully selective | No reading |
| Hurlstone Agricultural High SchoolFully selective | No reading |
| Penrith High SchoolFully selective | No reading |
| St George Girls High SchoolFully selective | No reading |
| Sydney Technical High SchoolFully selective | No reading |
| Caringbah High SchoolFully selective | No reading |
| Merewether High SchoolFully selective | No reading |
| Smiths Hill High SchoolFully selective | No reading |
| Chatswood High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Sefton High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Gosford High SchoolFully selective | No reading |
| Macquarie Fields High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Rose Bay Secondary CollegePartially selective | No reading |
| Prairiewood High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Tempe High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Ryde Secondary CollegePartially selective | No reading |
| Parramatta High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Leichhardt Campus - Sydney Secondary CollegePartially selective | No reading |
| Balmain Campus - Sydney Secondary CollegePartially selective | No reading |
| Blacktown Boys High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Blacktown Girls High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Bonnyrigg High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Moorebank High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Alexandria Park Community SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Armidale Secondary CollegePartially selective | No reading |
| Auburn Girls High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Elizabeth Macarthur High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Kooringal High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Karabar High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Peel High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Grafton High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Gorokan High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
| Richmond High School - Richmond Agricultural CollegePartially selective | No reading |
| Granville Boys High SchoolPartially selective | No reading |
Where this data comes from
Compiled by James Rush, Education Content Creator, Braintree Coaching Australia
Reviewed by Braintree Academic Panel on
Last updated:
This tracker mirrors the NSW Department of Education's published reserve-list status for NSW selective high schools. It is maintained by hand, not a live feed: the figures change only when an admin records a new weekly status. Braintree Coaching Australia has maintained it since the 2024 entry round, drawn from the NSW Department of Education's published reserve-list status. Mirrored weekly from the admin-maintained reserve-list app during the placement round; admins confirm provenance in the reserve-list manager.
We surface the past, not a prediction. The offer dates shown are the actual weeks families in each band received their letters in prior years, a record of what happened rather than a forecast of when your own offer will arrive.
Is the reserve list the only path to a top school?
No. Year 7 entry into Sydney's academically selective private schools is decided by the HAST and EduTest. Both run through Term 1 of Year 6, so families waiting on a selective offer can prepare in parallel.
Not every child needs to sit a second exam. If your child is already stretched, waiting on the reserve list alone is a reasonable choice. The course outlines below are there to read, not a step you have to take.
Many families who sit a selective reserve band also prepare for HAST or EduTest, so a private-school place stays on the table while they wait.
HASTHigh Achievers Selection Test — used by selective independent schools across NSW.
400+ Tests
EduTestThe other major private-school entrance test, used across NSW and VIC.
Subject tests & skill practice
What do parents ask during the reserve round?
These are the questions Braintree Coaching Australia hears most from families waiting in the middle of a live reserve round.
Understand and track the reserve list.
How the NSW Selective reserve list and A–F bands work
What a reserve band is, how the A–F bands are assigned, and the offer timeline after results day.
NSW selective school preparation
The full guide to the NSW Selective High School Placement Test and how to prepare for it.
NSW Selective reserve band chances 2026 — Band B, C and D by school
School-by-school reserve movement windows from the 2024 and 2025 rounds we tracked, plus what to plan while you wait.
NSW Selective results 2026 — offers, reserve bands and deadlines
DoE expected date 19 August 2026 (still worded expected), appeals close 26 August, reserve decision 3 December, plus what families are reporting this round.
NSW Selective 2027–28 parent playbook after results week
Next-cycle preparation once you know this round's outcome — not a second read of the same band table.
NSW Selective test results explained — performance bands and outcomes
How to read the four performance bands, the five dashboard outcomes and the Equity Placement Model before you act on a reserve place.
Selective test calculator — estimate placement by component marks
A clearly labelled Braintree estimate of which schools are within reach, for planning a Year 8–11 or scholarship route if the reserve call never comes.
Penrith High reserve list 2026 — Band B and what we can say
What Band B means on the Penrith queue, when offers typically move, and what the NSW selective dashboard does not show.
Hurlstone Agricultural reserve list 2026 — bands, commute, and waiting
What Bands C, D and F mean on the Hurlstone queue, co-ed gender parity from 2027, and what south-west Sydney families asked after 19 August offers.
Girraween High reserve list 2026 — Band F and the Hills corridor
What Band F means on the Girraween queue, DoE call-in order, and 2024–25 week-by-week tracker data for Hills corridor families waiting on a place.
Gosford High reserve list 2026 — Band B/C and Central Coast gender split
What Band B and Band C mean on the Gosford queue, the 90/90 gender split from 2027, regional access rules, and 2024–25 tracker data for Central Coast families.
Each school’s reserve list
- James Ruse Agricultural High School
- North Sydney Boys High School
- Baulkham Hills High School
- Hornsby Girls High School
- North Sydney Girls High School
- Sydney Girls High School
- Normanhurst Boys High School
- Sydney Boys High School
- Northern Beaches Secondary College - Manly Campus
- Fort Street High School
- Girraween High School
- Hurlstone Agricultural High School
- Penrith High School
- St George Girls High School
- Caringbah High School
- Sydney Technical High School
- Merewether High School
- Smiths Hill High School
- Chatswood High School
- Sefton High School
- Gosford High School
- Macquarie Fields High School
- Rose Bay Secondary College
- Prairiewood High School
- Tempe High School
- Ryde Secondary College
- Parramatta High School
- Balmain Campus - Sydney Secondary College
- Leichhardt Campus - Sydney Secondary College
- Blacktown Boys High School
- Bonnyrigg High School
- Blacktown Girls High School
- Moorebank High School
- Alexandria Park Community School
- Armidale Secondary College
- Auburn Girls High School
- Elizabeth Macarthur High School
- Kooringal High School
- Karabar High School
- Peel High School
- Grafton High School
- Gorokan High School
- Richmond High School - Richmond Agricultural College
- Granville Boys High School