Primary Six students described their excitement as "fireworks bursting" upon receiving their first-choice school placements, as Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) results were announced on Tuesday.
The overall satisfaction rate has increased to 95 percent, based on the total number of students allocated discretionary places (DP) and those who received their first three choices through central allocation (CA), according to the Education Bureau.
Around 85 percent were offered their first choice, achieving historical highs.
Among them, a student from Yaumati Catholic Primary School celebrated his admission to his first-choice institution, Queen Elizabeth School, though he remained modest about the achievement.
He shared that he often stayed up studying until 1 or 2am and attended tutorial classes for four subjects after school on weekdays. He didn't find it overly strenuous, believing that the outcome proved his hard work had paid off.
After being allocated to his first choice, a student cried tears of joy. A parent overjoyed with their son being allocated to Queen's College plans a family trip, while allowing their son to indulge in video games to let him relax after the arduous admission process.
Polly Chan Shuk-yee, principal of Yaumati Catholic Primary School, noted that the percentage of students allocated to their first-choice school or one of their top three choices has increased by 10 percent compared to last year.
She believed that the decline in student numbers has reduced competition, which is the main reason for the higher satisfaction rate.
Chan also attributed the change to a more conservative approach adopted by parents when selecting schools, with fewer "door-knocking" quotas available due to increasing competition from children of immigrant families.
Families tend to list schools with high admission rates as their first choice while being conservative when deciding their second and third choices, she added.
Additionally, Chan predicted intensified competition for "door-knocking" quotas and advised parents not to apply to more than five schools to avoid putting excessive pressure on their children.
(Judy Cui and Katrina Tong)
