Glossary of Hong Kong school-admission terms

Plain definitions of terms in SSPA and Primary One Admission documents. Each entry states only a published rule, quota or date. Links go to the page that explains the topic in depth. Today is September 2026: Primary 6 is the 2025/2027 cycle (Secondary 1 in September 2027, scored 999632); Primary 5 is the first 88844222 cohort (2026/2028, Secondary 1 September 2028). Primary One dates below are for September 2027 entry.

Internal assessment (呈分試)

Internal assessment (呈分試)

Under SSPA, primary schools submit internal-assessment marks to the Education Bureau. Three named terms are required. There is no territory-wide paper. Weights are on theSSPA calculator.

The three submissions (呈一／呈二／呈三)

呈一 is the Primary 5 second term, 呈二 the Primary 6 first term, 呈三 the Primary 6 second term. The Bureau standardises all three, then applies school adjustment. It has not published a public weighting among them. The calculator handles only the term typed in.

999632

Current weights, base 38: Chinese 9, English 9, Mathematics 9, General Studies 6, Visual Arts 3, Music 2. Primary 6 in 2026/27 (2025/2027 cycle) is still scored this way. Schools may include Religious Education (2) and/or Putonghua (1).

88844222

New weights, still base 38: Chinese 8, English 8, Mathematics 8, Humanities 4, Science 4, Visual Arts 2, Music 2, Physical Education 2. They take effect from the Primary 5 second term of 2026/27. That year group is the first cohort (Secondary 1 September 2028). Humanities and Science replace General Studies. The transition is onP5 and 88844222.

Standardisation (標準化)

The computer first standardises each pupil’s Primary 5 second-term and Primary 6 first- and second-term marks, then applies school adjustment. A weighted percentage is not a band. The mechanism is on thebanding estimator.

School adjustment (學校調整)

After standardisation, marks are adjusted by the average of the school’s two most recent Pre-S1 HKAT samples. The 2025/2027 cycle uses the school’s 2024 and 2026 samples; the previous cycle (2024/2026) used 2018 and 2024. Which two years the 2026/2028 cycle will use has not been published.

Pre-S1 HKAT (中一入學前香港學科測驗)

The test adjusts later cohorts’ internal assessment at that school. It does not directly affect the sitting pupil’s own allocation. The Bureau says schools and parents need not drill for it. For the 2025/2027 cycle the date is 13 July 2027. See theSSPA timeline.

Secondary allocation (SSPA)

SSPA (中學學位分配辦法)

The mechanism that allocates Secondary 1 places at participating schools, including participating DSS schools. It has two stages: Discretionary Places and Central Allocation. The walkthrough is onSSPA process.

Discretionary Places (自行分配學位)

Participating schools may reserve up to 30% of Secondary 1 places; participating DSS schools may reserve more than 30%. Applications are not restricted by district. A pupil may apply to at most two schools; applying to more voids the application. Once submitted it cannot be withdrawn, cancelled or re-ordered. For 2025/2027 the window is 4 to 18 January 2027.

Successful / reserve (正取／備取)

正取 means the school has listed the pupil as successful and notifies parents in writing and by phone on 31 March 2027. 備取 is the reserve list; those families are not notified that day. If both schools list the pupil, the first choice is allocated. A Discretionary Places offer means no Central Allocation place. Results are announced with Central Allocation on 6 July 2027.

Central Allocation (統一派位)

After repeaters and Discretionary Places, the remaining Secondary 1 places are allocated by computer. Every family must return the form, including successful (正取) families, who only tick the box, strike out the choices and sign. How to fill the form is onCA choice-form strategy.

Part A / Part B (甲部／乙部)

Part A is 10% of the remainder: up to 3 choices in any net, including the pupil’s own, processed first by territory band. Part B is 90%: up to 30 choices in the own net. Own-net schools may appear in both parts; the same school must not be repeated within one part. The Bureau warns that listing only a few Part B favourites does not raise the odds.

Band (派位組別)

Adjusted scores ranked and split into three equal thirds. Bands are computed only when the allocation programme runs, after participant counts are fixed. Individual bands are never released. The Bureau states that a school cannot precisely predict a pupil’s band. This site only estimates.

Territory / net band (全港／學校網派位組別)

The territory band splits all pupils into three thirds and is used for Part A. The net band is cut inside each of the 18 nets and is used for Part B. A pupil approved for cross-net allocation is re-banded inside the new net; the territory band is unchanged.

Random number (隨機編號)

Generated before the run. It only orders pupils in the same band when a school is over-subscribed (smaller number first). It is unrelated to the student number or personal data. SSPA and Primary One Central Allocation both use a random number; the rest of the two systems differs.

Secondary school net (學校網，升中)

Eighteen nets match the eighteen administrative districts. In principle a pupil’s net is the district where their primary school stands. Each net includes that district’s participating schools plus some other-district schools that offer places into the net; the number varies by year. This site does not name individual secondaries.

Cross-net allocation (跨網派位)

For genuine need, such as moving house. Paper applications go through the primary by the end of February 2027. The e-platform runs 3 December 2026 to 4 January 2027 and 25 January to 1 March 2027. Approved pupils join Part B in the new net and lose feeder/nominated reserved-place eligibility.

Feeder / nominated (直屬／聯繫學校)

After repeaters and Discretionary Places, a feeder secondary reserves 85% of the remainder for its feeder primary; a nominated secondary reserves 25%. Eligible pupils are those in net Band 1 or 2 who put that school as their Part B first choice. Over-subscription is settled by net band, then the random number.

Through-train (一條龍)

Primary 6 pupils may proceed directly to the linked secondary. Applying for Discretionary Places at a participating school, applying to a non-participating DSS school (whether admitted or not), or joining Central Allocation forfeits that right. The linked secondary reserves at least 15% of Secondary 1 places for outside pupils. DSS choices are onDSS / private secondary.

Participating / non-participating DSS (參加／非參加派位直資)

Participating DSS schools follow SSPA and may reserve more than 30% as Discretionary Places. Non-participating DSS schools set their own dates and place no limit on applications. Accepting a place means signing a parental undertaking and handing over the original Primary 6 Student Record Form, which gives up any subsidised Secondary 1 place via SSPA. When several offers exist, the order is: non-participating DSS, then Jockey Club Ti-I College, then Discretionary Places.

Parental undertaking (家長承諾書)

Signed when accepting a non-participating DSS place. If the family also holds a Discretionary Places successful notice, they must decide by 8 April 2027. Keeping the DSS place needs no further action. Giving it up to keep the Discretionary Places offer means notifying that school by the deadline and retrieving the undertaking and the original record form.

Primary 6 Student Record Form (小六學生資料表)

Used only as proof when applying to Jockey Club Ti-I College or a non-participating DSS school. Participating schools do not need it. Handing over the original is part of accepting a non-participating DSS place.

eSSPA (中一派位電子平台)

esspa.edb.gov.hk. For 2025/2027, parents register with iAM Smart+ in mid-November 2026. Discretionary Places and Central Allocation can both be submitted on the platform. The Central Allocation window is 8 April to 5 May 2027.

iAM Smart+ (智方便+)

Used to register an eSSPA account and to sign, then confirm, an ePOA submission. The Bureau lists a common error: signing with iAM Smart+ but not clicking “Confirm and submit”.

叩門 (approaching leftover places)

The Bureau has no rule or date for Secondary 1 leftover-place approaches. After results on 6 July 2027, each school decides whether to consider late enquiries. This site states no leftover-place quota. Timing and preparation are on the叩門 guide.

Primary One Admission

Primary One Admission (小一入學統籌辦法)

The mechanism that allocates Primary 1 places at government and aided primaries. Two phases, each about 50%: Discretionary Places and Central Allocation. For September 2027 entry the child must be born on or before 31 December 2021, be a Hong Kong resident, not yet be in primary school, and never have been allocated a Primary 1 place. Both phases step by step are onPrimary One process.

POA Discretionary Places (自行分配學位，小一)

Apply to one government or aided primary, any net. Applying to more than one voids the application. Places split into Category A and Category B. For 2027 entry the e-platform window is 17 to 25 September 2026; paper forms go to the school on 21 to 25 September. Results are on 23 November 2026; registration is 25 to 26 November.

Must-admit / Category A (世襲／甲類)

A sibling currently at the school, or a parent employed there. The school must admit. About 30% of places; overflow is taken from the Central Allocation quota. This is a Discretionary Places class, not Central Allocation “Part A”. The points items are onPOA points.

Points / Category B (計分辦法／乙類)

The points-based slice of Discretionary Places, not less than 20%. No test or interview. Choose one of items 1 to 5, one of items 6 to 7, plus age points. Maximum 35. Ties beyond places are settled by a fair school draw, or the Bureau draws centrally.

Age points (年齡分)

An age-appropriate child (5 years 8 months to 7 years in the September of entry) is given 10 points automatically; there is no need to claim them. For 2027 entry that means born from 1 September 2020 to 31 December 2021. Eligibility itself requires birth on or before 31 December 2021; a child born on or after 1 January 2022 is too young.

POA Central Allocation (統一派位，小一)

No points and no banding: choices plus a random number. Part A is about 10% of Central Allocation places, up to 3 schools in any POA net. Part B is 90%, and must be schools in the net of the child’s residential address. Siblings applying together who want the same school must submit identical lists. The mechanism is onP1 Central Allocation.

POA school net (小一學校網)

Thirty-six nets, cut by the child’s sole or main residence, not by the kindergarten’s district. Exact boundaries follow the GeoInfo Map (www.map.gov.hk). Cross-boundary children receive a special list of schools near control points and do not fill a net code. A false address can void the application, cancel the place, and may lead to prosecution.

Primary One registration document (小一註冊證)

Central Allocation results go out on 2 to 3 June 2027 by Hongkong Post local courier and on the e-platform; families who opted in also receive an SMS. If it has not arrived by 4 June, collect it on 5 or 6 June. Registration is 10 to 11 June. Dates are on thePrimary One timeline.

ePOA (小一入學電子平台)

epoa.edb.gov.hk. Discretionary Places e-applications run 17 to 25 September 2026; Central Allocation e-choices run 18 to 24 January 2027. Do not submit both an e-platform and a paper Discretionary Places application. After signing, click “Confirm and submit”.

P1 leftover places (叩門位)

Unregistered places, withdrawals, and leftover places beyond the basic allocation. Schools may fill these themselves only from 2 July 2027. Before that they must not promise a place or take the Primary One registration document. See the叩門 guide.

School types

Government (官立)

Education Bureau documents name government or aided primaries as the schools that accept a Primary One Discretionary Places application. A participating government secondary admits through SSPA. This entry does not describe fees or curriculum.

Aided (資助)

Aided primaries take part in Primary One Admission alongside government primaries. A participating aided secondary admits through Discretionary Places and Central Allocation. This entry does not define sponsoring bodies.

Direct Subsidy Scheme (直資)

Secondaries split into participating and non-participating types; see above andDSS / private secondary. DSS primaries sit outside Primary One Admission. Accepting a DSS Primary 1 place means the child cannot obtain a government or aided place through POA, including a Discretionary Places waiting-list place. Any POA place already allocated is cancelled. Retrieving the undertaking later does not restore it.

Private (私立)

Private primaries, including international schools and ESF, sit outside Primary One Admission. Private secondaries sit outside SSPA and set their own dates. This site does not state private-school fees, curricula or admissions criteria.

International (國際學校)

Outside Primary One Admission and outside SSPA. This site makes no other claim. Parents should ask the school for its own timetable.

Common misunderstandings

“Band 1 is an official grade of school.” It is not. The Bureau bands pupils. “Band 1 school” is folk usage for a secondary whose intake is mostly Band 1 pupils, not an official label.

“Must-admit is the Primary One points scale.” It is not. Must-admit is Category A (a sibling at the school or a parent employed there), about 30% of places. The points scale is Category B, not less than 20%, maximum 35, with no interview.

“SSPA Part A is the same as POA Category A.” It is not. SSPA Part A is the 10% of Central Allocation unrestricted by net (up to 3 choices). POA Category A is the must-admit class inside Discretionary Places. One is a slice of secondary Central Allocation; the other is a Primary One Discretionary Places class.

Next steps

How the two SSPA stages fit together is onSSPA process. How the two Primary One stages fit together is onPrimary One process. If the child has just entered Primary 5, start withP5 and 88844222.

FAQ