SSWAB FAQ

Students seeking regular-program admission to a SSWAB apply through Secondary OOA. If Northern is your designated secondary school by address, you do not need a SSWAB application for its regular program.

First choice applicants are seated before applicants who list that school as their second choice.

Yes. You may select one OOA school, one SSWAB school, or both. When selecting both, rank them first and second.

First choice applicants are seated before applicants who list that school as their second choice.

Offers and waitlists follow your ranking. Read the first and second choice rules, including what happens to a second choice seat if a first choice offer follows.

SSWAB uses five priorities. Returning-sibling and identified collegiate-area admission is guaranteed only when the SSWAB is the first choice. Read the current SSWAB priority structure.

For 2027–28 entry only, the sibling must have attended the requested school as of September 2024 and must be returning in 2027–28 in Grade 12. Eligible Priority 1 admission is guaranteed only when the SSWAB is the first choice. See the annual sibling transition rule.

Applicants outside the City of Toronto are Priority 5 and must reside in Ontario. Priority 2 Technological Studies seats are for eligible Toronto residents.

CTA is the former Commercial school among the five SSWABs and has no Technological Studies Priority 2 allocation. The four applicable former Technical schools are Central Technical, Danforth, Northern and Western.

Northern retains a small designated attendance boundary. If it is your designated secondary school by address, you have direct regular-program access. The retired technical catchment does not give that same automatic access. Confirm your designated school.

Students moving into the Riverdale area after March 1 of Grade 8 are directed to Danforth CTI. In-area students must apply to Riverdale CI by March 1 of Grade 8 to be eligible to attend Riverdale.

Priority 3 applies to the following identified collegiate-area relationships: Harbord → Central Technical School / Central Toronto Academy; Riverdale → Danforth Collegiate and Technical Institute; North Toronto → Northern Secondary School; Humberside → Western Technical-Commercial School. Guaranteed admission applies only when the SSWAB is the first choice.

These have separate processes. Specialized Programs use a separate application. French Immersion follows its own catchments and rules. Access is through the IPRC placement process only. ISP placements cannot be accessed through a SSWAB application. See other programs at SSWAB schools.

No. TDSB does not provide transportation for students attending through Out-of-Area Admissions.

An admitted OOA student may remain through the school’s final grade range. For rules affecting students attending an in-area school who later move, read moving and continuing at a school.

A student who accepts a Technological Studies seat commits to taking one technology course each year. A student who does not continue with Technological Studies must return to their designated school by address.

Applicants not offered a seat through Priority 2 are considered under Priority 4. Students in regular-program seats may still choose technology courses. Applicants offered a Tech seat are not also considered for a regular seat.

The legacy catchments were dissolved so these schools could serve students across Toronto through an application process. Read the Strategy & Planning review for the approved decisions and background.

The published FAQ explains that proximity to neighbouring collegiates made new boundaries impractical at several locations. The formal review provides the planning context.

Northern’s regular designated boundary remains, while its former technical catchment was retired. These are different areas. Confirm current access by address rather than relying on the old technical catchment.

Those former catchments no longer provide automatic regular-program access. Admission now follows the SSWAB process, with Northern’s designated boundary exception. Use the historical review for the changes.

The current guide retains a temporary returning-sibling priority for September 2027. Separate collegiate-area mappings also identify applicants considered under Priority 3. Check the current priorities rather than relying on earlier rules.

See the SSWAB current-cycle box or Secondary OOA.

Contact your current school and use Application Help. For a question that remains unanswered, use the support route on Main OOA.

No. The table records published Grade 9 seating ranges for September 2026. It does not promise a seat or predict the next year’s availability.