Resources/Primary and secondary
The phrase “school net” hides two different systems. One follows where you live. The other follows your child's primary school. Mixing them up can send a family down the wrong admissions path.
Primary One Admission uses school nets for Central Allocation. Secondary School Places Allocation uses a separate set of nets for S1. The first follows your home. The second follows the location of your child's primary school.
P1
The address determines the net for the restricted part of Primary One Central Allocation.
S1
The primary school's location determines the secondary school net used in SSPA.
The EDB divides Hong Kong into around 30 Primary One school nets. During the discretionary stage, you may apply to one government or aided primary school anywhere in Hong Kong. Your net enters the picture during Central Allocation.
Category A covers 10 percent of Central Allocation places. Parents may rank up to three government or aided schools anywhere in Hong Kong. Category B covers the remaining 90 percent and uses the school list for your residential net.
Read the Primary One Admission guide before you make choices. The EDB publishes the current school-net lists with each POA cycle.
SSPA uses 18 secondary school nets. The EDB bases the net on the physical location of your child's primary school. A move home does not move a child to a different S1 net on its own.
Families making S1 choices receive the relevant school list through the primary school. The EDB explains the current system in its SSPA information.
Both systems reserve a small part of Central Allocation for schools outside the restricted list. Parents can use up to three unrestricted choices in P1 and S1 under the current rules.
Use those choices for schools you would accept on the daily journey, not only for names you have heard in conversation. Travel time, teaching language and your child's needs still matter after allocation.
The EDB requires a true residential address for Primary One Admission. A borrowed address can void an application and withdraw a place. Keep your address documents in the folder with your admissions papers.
Use the HKSchoolPal finder to compare schools after you have the EDB list. It helps you look at district, fees and location. The EDB and each school control admission rules and availability.
Yes. Your residential address determines the Primary One school net used for Category B of Central Allocation. The Education Bureau publishes the school lists for each cycle.
No. The location of your child's primary school determines the Secondary One school net in SSPA.
Both systems include an unrestricted portion. POA Category A permits up to three choices anywhere in Hong Kong. SSPA Unrestricted School Choices also permits up to three choices from any school net, subject to current EDB rules.
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