About 24,000 Primary One places will be available in the discretionary admission stage, accounting for around half of the total Primary One places at local schools.

Hong Kong to relax cap on local students at international schools

Although parents still had to submit their application forms in person despite the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the Education Bureau advised schools to take measures to shorten the waiting time and avoid gatherings.

At one of the city’s top boys’ schools, La Salle Primary School near Kowloon Tong, more than 10 parents queued up outside the gates before applications opened at 9am, with some of them arriving more than an hour early.

A mother surnamed Lee said she hoped to get her son into the top school because of its students’ record of academic achievement and good conduct.

“I wish to pick the best school for my son,” she said. “Some of my relative’s kids are also studying here, so I hope my son will be able to study here as well.”

Lee said her family had spent more than HK$5,000 each month for her son to take extracurricular classes such as piano, drums and badminton. She added she had also already applied to about 10 other private and Direct Subsidy Scheme schools – institutions that occupy a middle ground between private and public – which are on a separate application system.

Only one school can be chosen at the discretionary stage, with pupils admitted according to points awarded for factors such as whether the child was firstborn, if the parents had also attended and religious affiliation.

About 10 parents also queued up at the elite girls’ academy Maryknoll Convent School (Primary Section) before the application period began at 11am.

Hundreds of Hong Kong schools report student withdrawals

A father surnamed Lau, who works as an architect, arrived about 1½ hours early. He said he chose to apply to the school because he “agrees with its teaching philosophy”, adding that it was also his daughter’s top choice.

“I don’t think there is much pressure [during the application process]. As long as we have prepared well, whether we succeed will probably more or less be fate,” he said.

Some parents who applied for discretionary Primary One places on Monday also said they had been mulling sending their children overseas in the coming years, but there were more factors to consider.

One parent surnamed Wong said that although she had worries about the local education system, it was “still too early” to send her son to study abroad at this stage.

“He’s still young, and we still need to consider whether we can financially support him … The priority now is whether he can enter our preferred primary school,” she said.

Hong Kong’s subsidised kindergartens have tuition fee raise approved

Chu Wai-lam, vice-chairman of the New Territories School Heads Association and principal of Fung Kai No 1 Primary School in Sheung Shui, said competition for spots was likely to be stiff at the city’s elite schools this year.

He said his school, which offers a total of 50 discretionary places, had already received about 100 applications on Monday.

“We initially expected there might be fewer parents submitting forms in person on the first day of the application period because of the ongoing pandemic situation, but the number of applications we have received turned out to be higher than expected,” he said.

The discretionary application process closes on Friday, while application results will be announced on November 23.