Primary One Central Allocation: school nets, must-admit places and the random number (2027)

What this page answers

This page explains how Primary One Central Allocation works for September 2027 entry: how places split between the two phases, what happens when Category A must-admit (often called 世襲) numbers overflow into the Central Allocation quota, why the school net follows the child’s address rather than the school’s district, what Parts A and B each hold, and what the random number does in a system with no points and no banding. The month-by-month calendar is on thePrimary One timeline. Category B scoring is onPOA points. The step-by-step path from application to registration is onthe Primary One process. This page does not retell the full year; it covers the Central Allocation mechanism.

How places split in two

Primary One Admission divides government and aided Primary One places into two phases, each about half: Discretionary Places and Central Allocation. Discretionary Places then split again. Category A is must-admit: a sibling currently at that primary, or a parent employed there, about 30% of Primary One places. Category B is decided by points, not less than 20% of places, with no test or interview of any form. When Category A numbers exceed that roughly 30% quota, the overflow is taken from the Central Allocation quota. That is an Education Bureau rule. This site does not estimate how many Central Allocation places that uses, because the documents do not publish a fixed share.

So the Central Allocation half is not a fixed integer. Once Category A overflows, the pool the computer can assign shrinks by that amount. When parents fill choices in January they see the Bureau’s list for the address net, not a guarantee that every school still holds “half its places”. Discretionary Places points do not carry into Central Allocation. Central Allocation uses no points and no secondary-style territory or net banding.

School nets follow the home address

There are 36 Primary One nets. Discretionary Places may be one government or aided primary in any net. Once Central Allocation Part B begins, the net follows the child’s residential address. That address is the child’s sole or main home, not a correspondence address and not the district of the Discretionary Places school. Exact boundaries are on the GeoInfo Map (www.map.gov.hk). Cross-boundary children receive a special Central Allocation list of schools near control points and do not fill in a net code.

A false address voids the application and cancels an allocated place. Prosecution is possible under the Crimes Ordinance: forgery up to 14 years; a false statutory declaration up to 2 years plus a fine. The Bureau may check documents, require a statutory declaration and make a home visit. The report hotline is 2832 7700. Address proofs the Bureau lists as unacceptable include mobile-phone bills, bank statements and deposit slips without receipts. Confusing the address net with the net where the Discretionary Places school stands is also an error the Bureau names.

Part A and Part B

Central Allocation itself splits into two parts. Part A is about 10% of Central Allocation places, up to 3 schools, in any Primary One net including the child’s own. Part B is 90% and must be schools on the Bureau list for the net of the child’s address. An own-net school chosen in Part A may be repeated in Part B. That repeat is allowed so the same own-net school can sit in the smaller Part A pool and the larger Part B pool.

Siblings who want the same school must submit identical choice lists. The computer will not place two children together merely because they are siblings; different lists can produce different results. Central Allocation uses no points and no secondary-style banding: a random number plus the parents’ choices. The secondary mechanism that processes territory bands through Part A and net bands through Part B does not apply at Primary One.

The random number

The Education Bureau’s stated factors for Primary One Central Allocation are the parents’ choices plus a random number. There is no internal assessment, no school adjustment, and no split of all children in the territory or a net into three bands. The random number orders applicants who share the same choice order when a school has more applicants than remaining places. The Bureau has not published how the number is generated or whether parents can see it; this site does not guess. Parents control the order of choices and whether the list is complete. The number itself is not a strategy tool.

Timetable

The rows below cover Central Allocation from choice-filling to registration only. The September Discretionary Places window, November results, and the July date from which schools may fill vacancies themselves are on the timeline page; this page does not retell each month.

Filling the form

Because the computer uses choice order and a random number, list schools in the family’s genuine order of preference, not in reverse order of rumoured popularity. The three Part A slots are the only Central Allocation places where another net can be named. If the family has no cross-net need, putting own-net schools in both parts is what the Bureau allows. In Part B, fill as much of the Bureau’s own-net list as the family can accept. This site does not claim that fewer choices raise the chance of a favourite school: the Bureau has not said that for Primary One, and it has not described how the computer assigns a leftover place in the net if the list runs out.

Some families group the list into favourites, safer choices and fallbacks. That is a common habit, not a rule. Check that school codes and addresses match the Bureau list, and confirm the form is submitted after signing. Signing with iAM Smart+ but not clicking “Confirm and submit” is one of the common errors the Bureau lists.

A worked example

The Lam family is fictional. School names are omitted. This only shows how the mechanism joins up; it is not a school’s admission record and it states no probabilities. They live in Tin Shui Wai, net 72. In September 2026 the two same-cohort siblings apply to one government primary in another net under Category B. They receive no place in November and join Central Allocation automatically. In mid-January 2027 the Bureau posts the net 72 list. The parents put 3 schools in Part A: one in another net and two in their own. Part B follows the own-net list from genuine first preference to an acceptable last. Because both children want the same school, the two lists are identical. In June they are allocated an own-net school from the Part B list and register on 10 or 11 June.

After results

The Primary One Registration Form is sent by Hongkong Post local courier on 2 and 3 June 2027 and is also on the e-platform. Families who opted in receive SMS; a test SMS goes out in mid-May. If nothing has arrived by 4 June, collect on 5 or 6 June. Registration at the allocated school is on 10 and 11 June.

Only from 2 July 2027 may schools fill unregistered places, withdrawals and remaining places beyond the basic allocation themselves. Before that date they must not promise a place or take a Primary One Registration Form. There is no territory-wide quota or percentage for these remaining places; everything else is school discretion. See the July section of the timeline page.

Common misunderstandings

“Discretionary Places points carry into Central Allocation.” They do not. Central Allocation uses neither the eight criteria nor banding: a random number plus choices. The 35-point table has no role in January.

“The school net is the district where the school stands.” It is not. Discretionary Places are not restricted by net. Central Allocation Part B follows the net of the child’s address; exact boundaries are on the GeoInfo Map. Treating “where the school is” as “which net we belong to” is an error the Bureau lists.

“Part A is a free extra chance.” Part A is about 10% of Central Allocation places, a limited pool, up to 3 schools. Those 3 slots are the only way to name another net at Central Allocation. Leaving them blank or filling them casually gives up preference in that 10% pool; it is not a cost-free add-on.

“Accepting a DSS primary place can be undone by retrieving the undertaking.” It cannot. Accepting a Direct Subsidy Scheme Primary One 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 does not restore it.

“Siblings are automatically placed together.” They are not. Siblings who want the same school must submit identical choice lists. Different lists can produce different results.

Next steps

To add up a Category B Discretionary Places score, usePOA points. For every date from September to July, see thePrimary One timeline. To walk both phases as one sequence, seethe Primary One process.

FAQ