DSS and private secondary schools: participating vs non-participating rules and timetable

Three kinds of school, three sets of rules

Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) and private secondaries are often treated as one “school-based admission” group. The Education Bureau uses three different rule sets. Participating DSS schools follow SSPA: they offer Discretionary Places and they take part in Central Allocation. Non-participating DSS schools admit entirely on their own terms; accepting a place means leaving SSPA. Private secondaries, including international schools, sit entirely outside SSPA. Their dates and criteria are school-set; the Bureau briefing publishes no application window for them. Students in Primary 6 in September 2026 are in the 2025/2027 cycle, with Secondary 1 entry in September 2027. This page explains how the three systems run in parallel, and the Bureau’s order of priority and deadline when a family holds more than one offer.

Participating DSS schools

Participating DSS schools share the government and aided timetable. The Discretionary Places window is 4 to 18 January 2027. Applications are not restricted by district. A student may apply to a maximum of two participating schools, including participating DSS schools; applying to more voids the Discretionary Places application. Participating schools may reserve up to 30% of Secondary 1 places as Discretionary Places; participating DSS schools may reserve more than 30%. Schools must pre-publish their criteria and weightings. Interviews are allowed; no written test of any form is allowed.

Successful (正取) notices go out in writing and by phone on 31 March 2027; reserve and unsuccessful families are not notified. A student allocated a Discretionary Places offer receives no Central Allocation place, but the Central Allocation form must still be returned: tick the box, strike out the choices section and sign. Families without a Discretionary Places place go on to fill up to 3 Part A choices and up to 30 Part B own-net choices. The e-platform window is 8 April to 5 May 2027. Participating schools do not need the Primary 6 Student Record Form.

Non-participating DSS schools

Non-participating DSS schools set their own application dates, are not restricted by district, admit on school-based criteria, and place no limit on how many a student applies to. This section is general guidance, not an Education Bureau rule: dates differ by school. They commonly open in the autumn of Primary 6, before the Discretionary Places window of 4 to 18 January 2027, but each school’s notice for that year is the source to follow. Do not copy a neighbouring school’s calendar.

Accepting a place means the parent signs a parental undertaking and hands over the original Primary 6 Student Record Form, giving up any government-subsidised Secondary 1 place through SSPA. That form is used only as proof when applying to Jockey Club Ti-I College or to a non-participating DSS school; participating schools do not need it. Once the original is handed over, the family has left SSPA, unless the papers are retrieved inside the deadline below in order to keep a Discretionary Places offer.

Deciding when you hold two offers

If a parent holds both a non-participating DSS offer and a Discretionary Places successful notice, the Bureau requires a decision by 8 April 2027. When several offers exist, the order of priority is: non-participating DSS, then Jockey Club Ti-I College, then Discretionary Places. Work through it in this order:

1. Check the papers in hand: the non-participating DSS offer, the signed parental undertaking, whether the original Primary 6 Student Record Form is still at that school, and the 31 March successful notice (written and by phone).
2. If the family keeps the non-participating DSS place: no further action. The undertaking and the original record form already take the family out of SSPA.
3. If the family gives up the DSS place to keep Discretionary Places: notify that DSS school by 8 April 2027 and retrieve the signed undertaking and the original record form. After that date this route to keep the Discretionary Places offer is closed.
4. In either case the Central Allocation form must still be returned. Successful families tick the box, strike out the choices and sign. A student allocated a Discretionary Places offer receives no Central Allocation place.

Through-train, feeder and nominated students

Primary 6 students on a through-train may proceed directly to the linked secondary. Applying for Discretionary Places at a participating school, or applying to a non-participating DSS school (whether admitted or not), or joining Central Allocation, forfeits that right. Filing a non-participating DSS application is enough: even if the school later declines, the through-train right is already lost. A through-train secondary reserves at least 15% of Secondary 1 places for outside students through Discretionary Places or Central Allocation.

Feeder and nominated places are a different rule. After repeaters and Discretionary Places, a feeder secondary reserves 85% of the remainder for its feeder primary; a nominated secondary reserves 25%. Eligible students are those in net Band 1 or 2 who put that school as their Part B first choice. If the family accepts a non-participating DSS place, they have left SSPA and the reservation no longer applies. Choice-form tactics are onCA choice-form strategy.

A worked example

A fictional family: the child is in Primary 6 in 2026/27. In February 2027 a non-participating DSS school offers a place. The parents sign the undertaking and hand over the original Primary 6 Student Record Form. In the same cycle the child also applies to two participating schools for Discretionary Places. On 31 March 2027 the first-choice participating school notifies them as 正取 in writing and by phone. The family now holds both a DSS place and a Discretionary Places successful notice, and must decide by 8 April.

If they keep the DSS place, they need not notify the Bureau; the 6 July allocation will not give them a subsidised place. If they switch to the 正取 offer, they must notify that DSS school by 8 April, retrieve the undertaking and the original record form, and return the Central Allocation form with the box ticked and the choices struck out. Either path needs 8 April on the calendar: that is the Bureau deadline for “DSS offer plus 正取 notice”, not a window a school can extend on its own.

Fees and other considerations

This section is general guidance, not an Education Bureau rule. DSS and private secondaries charge fees. Each school publishes its own figures; this site quotes none. Before accepting a place, look at the curriculum, the campus location and travel time, and whether accepting that place means leaving subsidised allocation. Participating DSS schools remain inside SSPA; a non-participating DSS place, once accepted, leaves SSPA. Do not substitute a neighbouring school’s fee or curriculum rumour for that school’s formal notice for the year.

Common misunderstandings

“Participating and non-participating DSS schools follow the same rules.” They do not. The first follows the Discretionary Places and Central Allocation timetable. The second admits on its own; accepting its place gives up subsidised allocation.

“If a non-participating DSS application fails, through-train rights remain.” They do not. Applying, whether admitted or not, forfeits the through-train right.

“Participating schools also need the Primary 6 Student Record Form.” They do not. The form is only for Jockey Club Ti-I College and non-participating DSS schools.

“Handing back the undertaking at any time restores the subsidised place.” Only a family that also holds a 正取 notice, and that retrieves the undertaking and the original record form by 8 April 2027, can keep the Discretionary Places offer by the Bureau’s route. That is a different rule from Primary One DSS, where retrieving the undertaking does not restore a POA place. Do not mix the two.

“Private secondaries go through Central Allocation.” They do not. Private secondaries sit entirely outside SSPA. Dates are school-set.

Next steps

For the full Discretionary Places and Central Allocation flow, see theSSPA process. For this cycle’s dates, see theSSPA timeline. For how successful families still return the choice form, seeCA choice-form strategy.

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