There are more vacancies in popular Hong Kong primary schools this year, giving pupils a better chance of admission. Photo: Sam TsangThis year, pupils in Hong Kong will have a higher chance of being admitted when applying for Primary One spots at popular subsidised schools. This is because new statistics show an average 13 per cent increase in vacancies in such institutions.
Parents of around 21, 000 children have to pick schools starting from next Monday, when the central allocation phase starts. The increase in vacancies has been attributed largely to fewer pupils using the “siblings route” to secure spots in the first stage of admissions, and fewer applicants overall.
One popular government school in Tsuen Wan had 80 per cent more vacancies than last year through central allocation, a process commonly dubbed the “lucky draw”.
The Education Bureau on Wednesday announced the number of spots still available at public primary schools in the central allocation stage. Around half of all final-year preschool pupils received offers from government and aided primary schools during the discretionary phase last November.
“Children who have joined the Primary One admission system for 2025 but have not yet secured a discretionary place can take part in the central allocation … Parents concerned should make their choice of schools within the period from January 13 to 19,” the bureau said on Monday, adding results would be announced on June 4.
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Schools must accept applications from the siblings of current pupils in the discretionary phase, and have to use the spots in the central allocation stage if the quota for sibling admissions is used up.
Institutions with fewer places to offer during the central allocation stage are regarded as popular schools.
The selection of central allocation places is determined by random numbers generated by computer, which is why it is commonly known as the “lucky draw”. Pupils’ performance in preschool is not taken into account in the process.
The SCMP found that eight out of the top 10 schools which had the highest number of spots taken up by younger siblings last year had more places to offer this year, with 6 to 81 per cent more vacancies.
The trend was similar in terms of the schools’ geographical spread across Hong Kong’s 18 administrative districts.
The SCMP compared the figures of the most popular schools from 2024 with this year and found 14 out of the 18 districts had more spots to offer in the coming allocation stage.
On average, there were 13 per cent more Primary One spots across all districts in the central allocation stage compared with last year.
Among the popular institutions was Tsuen Wan Government Primary School, which had the highest over-enrolment figure in the first phase and 32 spots in the central allocation stage last year. This year, the school had 58 places available in the “lucky draw” stage, marking an 81 per cent jump.
In Sham Shui Po, S.K.H. St Clement’s Primary School had 56 spots to offer through central allocation this year, compared with 41 last year.
In Kwai Tsing, S.K.H. Yan Laap Memorial Primary School had 58 places available this year, 12 more than the 46 last year.
According to the bureau, the number of pupils seeking Primary One admission slid from 42,277 in 2024 to 41,781 this year, marking a 3 per cent drop.
Schools that fail to enrol at least 16 students in both discretionary and central allocation stages cannot operate a Primary One class. They must submit a survival plan to the government for approval or be forced to close down.
At least 14 primary schools admitted less than 16 students in the discretionary phase, according to a calculation by the SCMP based on the figures on central allocation. These schools will need to enrol sufficient students in order to keep operating.
A number of schools will hold open days for kindergarten pupils on the coming two Saturdays, on January 11 and 18, before the deadline for central allocation.
Some primary schools have even opened their classrooms for preschoolers’ parents to attend a number of lessons this week.
Little Flower’s Catholic Primary School in Sha Tin, which has 92 out of 100 spots to offer through central allocation, announced on its website that it would hold an activity day on Saturday for preschool children, including handball matches and a lucky draw.