Almost half of pupils secure spot at preferred Hong Kong primary school, highest in more than a decade
- Some 22,892 children, or 47.6 per cent, land spot at discretionary admission stage
- Factors raised for a declining student population – and therefore less competition – include migration wave and closed borders
Almost half of all pupils have successfully secured a Primary One place at their preferred school in Hong Kong for the next academic year, the highest in more than a decade, amid a shrinking student population.
Some 22,892 children, or 47.6 per cent, secured a spot at the discretionary admission stage, which provides half of the total Primary One places at local schools before a centralised allocation in January for unsuccessful candidates. Results will be released next Monday.
Among the 22,892 discretionary places offered this year, 13,048 were given to children with siblings studying or parents working at the school.
The remaining 9,844 were admitted through a points system. More points will be given to firstborn children, those with the same religious affiliation as schools, or if their parents attended the same institution.
Under the scheme, each school should earmark about half of its Primary One places for the central allocation. Of these, 10 per cent is for a choice of schools in or outside the pupil’s school net, or district, in which they live, while the remaining 90 per cent covers schools in their net based on address.
Results of the centralised allocation will be announced next June.
