Reserve band: when could an offer come?
What does reserve band B mean for NSW Selective? Band B means the Department estimates an offer, if one comes, by the end of October.
Selective reserve list
Pick your reserve band
Your result
- Department estimate for a band
- Your band
- Month passed
What families reported (self-reported, not official)
88 families posted a Selective reserve band on one tutoring provider’s public results board by 18 September 2026. These are people waiting, not offers made.
Questions people ask
What does reserve band B mean for NSW Selective?
Band B means the Department estimates an offer, if one comes, by the end of October. It is based on how families declined offers at that school last year. The Department says children in bands A to E are likely to get an offer by the listed month but that nothing is guaranteed.
Is band F or band E a no?
Not quite. For Selective, band F is 'unlikely to get an offer'; for OC, band E is. The Department says that if an offer does come it would likely be after the school year starts. Selective reserve lists run until the end of Term 1 2027 and OC lists until the end of Term 1 2028.
Can I accept one offer and stay on the reserve list for a higher choice?
Yes, until the reserve decision date: 3 December 2026 at 3 pm for 2027 entry. After that date, children holding an accepted offer are removed from reserve lists. To stay on a reserve list after it you would have to decline your accepted offer, and a declined offer cannot be taken back.
What happens when my child's place on the reserve list is reached?
The Selective Education Team emails you to log in to your application dashboard. You then accept or decline by the response due date shown there. If you miss that date, the offer goes to the next child on the list.
Is there a reserve list for Aurora College?
No. The Department's outcomes page says there is no reserve list for Aurora College.
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How we work this out
What it does
Pick the reserve band on your child's Selective or OC outcome to see the Department's month estimate, the reserve decision date and what an accepted offer changes.
Selective high school Year 7 entry in 2027 (bands A to F) and opportunity class Year 5 entry in 2027 (bands A to E), with the reserve decision date of 3 December 2026 at 3 pm Sydney time.
Method
- We look up your band in the Department's reserve band table. The table gives a month for bands A to E (Selective) or A to D (OC), and says the last band is unlikely to get an offer.
- The Department prints months without a year. For the 2027-entry round they come after the August and September 2026 results, so September to December mean 2026 and January means 2027.
- Today's date is taken in Sydney, not your own time zone, so a month shows as passed only once it has ended in NSW.
- The accepted-offer rule comes from the Department's outcomes and reserve pages: you can hold an accepted offer and stay on higher-choice reserve lists until the reserve decision date; after it, children holding an accepted offer are removed from reserve lists.
- Families' reports are shown as counts only, from one tutoring provider's public results board, and are never used to change the estimate.
Published figures
The Department’s reserve band table, 2027 entry
| Band | Selective (Year 7) | OC (Year 5) |
|---|---|---|
| A | Likely by the end of September 2026 | Likely by the end of September 2026 |
| B | Likely by the end of October 2026 | Likely by the end of October 2026 |
| C | Likely by the end of November 2026 | Likely by the end of November 2026 |
| D | Likely by the end of December 2026 | Likely by the end of December 2026 |
| E | Likely by the end of January 2027 | Unlikely to get an offer |
| F | Unlikely to get an offer | no band F |
| Date | Selective (Year 7) | OC (Year 5) |
|---|---|---|
| Results expected | 19 August 2026 | 9 September 2026 |
| Appeals closed | 26 August 2026 | 16 September 2026 |
| Reserve decision date, 3 pm | 3 December 2026 | 3 December 2026 |
| Reserve lists run until | End of Term 1 2027 | End of Term 1 2028 |
Sources
Checked .
- NSW Department of Education: Selective high school Year 7 reserve list bands, Reserve band estimates table (2026)
- NSW Department of Education: Opportunity class reserve list bands, Reserve band estimates table
- NSW Department of Education: Selective high school and opportunity class application process: key dates, Key dates for 2027 entry
- NSW Department of Education: Outcomes: what the different outcomes mean, Reserve list only; offer and higher choice reserve list (2026)