What this page answers
This page explains how to apply for Secondary 1 Discretionary Places. It is for students in Primary 6 in September 2026: the 2025/2027 cycle, with Secondary 1 entry in September 2027. After reading it you should be able to separate the share of places a school may reserve, the limit of two schools per student, how the paper forms keep the order of preference with the parent, what an interview may include and a written test may not, how successful and reserve lists are matched, and what a notified family still does with the Central Allocation form. The dates below belong to this cycle only. Students in Primary 5 in September 2026 are in the 2026/2028 cycle, entering Secondary 1 in September 2028; do not reuse the 2027 dates for that cohort. In the previous cycle (2024/2026) the window was 2 to 16 January 2026, and the successful-applicant notice was also on 31 March.
What Discretionary Places are
A participating secondary school may reserve up to 30% of its Secondary 1 places as Discretionary Places. A participating Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) school may reserve more than 30%. That is a rule about how many places a school may set aside. It is not a student’s chance of an offer. This site does not estimate how many places any individual school actually reserves.
Applications are not restricted by the student’s district or school net. Each student may apply to at most two participating secondary schools. Applying to more than two participating schools voids the whole Discretionary Places application. Once submitted, an application cannot be withdrawn, cancelled or re-ordered.
Discretionary Places come before Central Allocation. A student who is allocated a Discretionary Places offer receives no Central Allocation place. Central Allocation distributes what remains after places for repeaters and after Discretionary Places: 10% in Part A (not restricted by school net) and 90% in Part B (by school net). The 31 March successful notice and the 6 July allocation result are two different events. The timeline lists them separately.
Timeline
The table is the Discretionary Places calendar for Primary 6 students in the 2026/27 school year, cycle 2025/2027. Forms go out in early April. 8 April is the deadline for the DSS decision. Keep those two rows as separate dates.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| Mid-November 2026 | Register a Secondary One Admission e-Platform account (eSSPA, esspa.edb.gov.hk) with iAM Smart+ |
| Early December 2026 | Schools publish Discretionary Places notes; primaries issue two forms; the handbook and Parent’s Guide are uploaded |
| 4 to 18 January 2027 | Application window: e-platform, or paper handed in person to the school |
| On or before end of March 2027 | School interviews. No written test of any form |
| 31 March 2027 | Successful notice in writing and by phone; e-platform from 10:00. Reserve and unsuccessful families are not notified |
| Early April 2027 | Secondary One Choice of Schools form and the secondary-school list are issued |
| 8 April 2027 | Deadline to give up a non-participating DSS place and keep a Discretionary Places offer. Parent’s Guide to Central Allocation uploaded. E-platform choices run to 5 May |
| 6 July 2027 | Discretionary Places and Central Allocation results announced together (collect at the primary, or view on the e-platform) |
In mid-November 2026 parents first register an eSSPA account with iAM Smart+, and only then use the platform to apply. In early December, secondary schools publish their Discretionary Places notes on their own websites; primary schools issue two Secondary One Discretionary Places Application Forms; the handbook on applying for Discretionary Places and the Parent’s Guide are uploaded. An application may be submitted only from 4 to 18 January 2027, either on the e-platform or on paper handed in person to that secondary school.
Interviews take place on or before the end of March 2027. On 31 March schools notify the parents of successful applicants in writing and by phone. Parents using the e-platform can view the notice from 10:00 that morning. Reserve families and unsuccessful families are not notified that day. Parents need not reply to the successful notice. The day of the notice is not the day of the final result. Discretionary Places and Central Allocation results are announced together on 6 July 2027. Students collect them at their primary school or view them on the e-platform. If typhoon signal No. 8 or above, a red or black rainstorm warning, or “extreme conditions” are in force on the results day, follow radio and television announcements.
In early April the Bureau issues the Secondary One Choice of Schools form and the secondary-school list. On 8 April it uploads the Parent’s Guide to Central Allocation. That date is also the deadline for giving up a non-participating DSS place in order to keep a Discretionary Places offer. The e-platform window for Central Allocation choices is 8 April to 5 May 2027. Paper forms go back through the primary school in early May. The Central Allocation form must be submitted whether or not Discretionary Places were applied for.
How the application forms work
The paper set is two Secondary One Discretionary Places Application Forms, one for each school, marked choice order 1 and choice order 2. Which form is printed as 1 and which as 2 is random on the pair. Parents do not choose the numbers. Parents tear off the fourth copy and keep it. That copy shows the order. Schools do not learn whether the parent ranked them first or second.
Inside the 4 to 18 January window, an application may be sent on the e-platform or handed in on paper at the school. Once submitted, it cannot be withdrawn or cancelled, and the order of the two schools cannot be swapped. After the forms arrive in early December, and before they are submitted in January, read that school’s published Discretionary Places notes and the uploaded handbook and Parent’s Guide.
Participating schools do not need the Primary 6 Student Record Form for a Discretionary Places application. The form is used as proof in only two kinds of application: Jockey Club Ti-I College (賽馬會體藝中學), and non-participating DSS schools. Do not hand it over when applying to a participating school for Discretionary Places.
What schools may and may not do
Each school sets its own admission criteria and weightings, and must publish them before applications. This site does not list any school’s criteria and does not compare weightings across schools. Use the text that school has published.
Schools may hold interviews. In the 2025/2027 cycle, interviews must be finished on or before the end of March 2027. Schools may not set a written test of any form, including a computer or questionnaire test of subject knowledge. An oral interview is allowed. A subject-knowledge paper, a computer test of subject knowledge, or a questionnaire that tests subject knowledge, is a written test and is not allowed.
If a student misses the interview, the application already submitted is not cancelled. The student may still be placed on the successful list (正取) or the reserve list (備取) under the criteria the school has published. Whether absence leads to a place depends on those published criteria.
Successful lists, reserve lists and matching
正取 means the school has placed the student on its successful list and, on 31 March, notifies the parents in writing and by phone. 備取 is the school’s reserve list. Students on a reserve list, and students who are not listed, are not notified that day. The Bureau then matches the parent’s order with each school’s successful and reserve lists. The cases it states are these.
- Both schools list the student: the student is allocated the first-choice school.
- Only the second-choice school lists the student: the student is allocated that second choice, or the first choice as a reserve if a place opens.
- No successful notice on 31 March: the student may still receive a Discretionary Places offer later as a reserve, or none.
Also holding a non-participating DSS offer
Non-participating DSS schools set their own application dates, are not restricted by district, and admit on a school basis. There is no limit on how many such schools a student may apply to. Accepting a place means the parent signs a parental undertaking and hands over the original Primary 6 Student Record Form. Handing over the original gives up any government-subsidised Secondary 1 place through SSPA.
If a parent holds both a non-participating DSS offer and a Discretionary Places successful notice dated 31 March, they must decide by 8 April 2027. Keeping the DSS place needs no further notice. Giving up the DSS place in order to keep the Discretionary Places offer means notifying that DSS school by the deadline and retrieving the signed undertaking and the original record form. When several offers exist at once, the order of priority is: non-participating DSS, then Jockey Club Ti-I College, then Discretionary Places.
Choosing the two schools
The order is confidential from the schools, but matching uses the first and second choices the parent submitted. When both schools list the student, the allocation is the first choice. Putting the school the family would genuinely rather the child attend as the first choice keeps the form in line with that match. That is a way of using a published rule. It is not a combination of schools the Bureau requires.
The second school is not a spare form. When only the second choice lists the student, the student is allocated that second choice. The first choice can come up as a reserve only if a place opens. The Bureau does not publish a rate for second-choice offers. This site does not estimate one, and it does not treat “the second choice is easier” or “the second choice is useless” as fact.
Two is a maximum, not a number that must be filled. Applying to no participating school does not breach “at most two”. Applying to one school does not exceed the maximum either. A student who submits no Discretionary Places application does not receive a successful notice on 31 March, and must still submit the Central Allocation form. This site does not compare which outcome is more likely if the family applies or does not. Applying to a third participating school voids the whole Discretionary Places application; that is a rule, not guidance.
A student at a through-train primary who hopes to proceed directly to the linked secondary forfeits that right by joining Central Allocation. How such a family indicates on the form that they are not joining Central Allocation is a question for the primary school.
An example
The family below is hypothetical. It illustrates the rules. The student and the schools are not a real case, and the example does not estimate the chance of an offer.
The child is in Primary 6 in September 2026. The primary school and one secondary school are a through-train. In early December 2026 the primary issues two Discretionary Places application forms. The family has to decide whether, from 4 to 18 January 2027, to apply to participating secondary schools.
A Primary 6 student may proceed directly to the linked secondary. Any one of the following removes that right: applying for Discretionary Places at a participating school; applying to a non-participating DSS school, whether or not that school admits the student; joining Central Allocation. An application cannot be withdrawn once submitted, so the family cannot submit and then cancel if they change their mind.
If this family does none of the three: no Discretionary Places application, no application to a non-participating DSS school, and no Central Allocation, the child may proceed directly to the linked secondary.
If they submit an application to one or two participating schools, the direct right is already lost at submission. What follows is the Discretionary Places match. A student who is not allocated a Discretionary Places offer then goes into Central Allocation, and the form must still be submitted. Suppose they applied to two schools. The matches the Bureau has stated are: if both schools list the student, the allocation is the first choice; if only the second choice lists the student, the allocation is the second choice, or the first choice as a reserve if a place opens; if there is no successful notice on 31 March, the student may still be offered a Discretionary Places place as a reserve, or none. This page does not estimate which of those will happen.
The linked through-train secondary must reserve at least 15% of its Secondary 1 places for outside students, through Discretionary Places or Central Allocation. That is a reserved share at that secondary, not a guaranteed place for any individual student.
If the family also applies to a non-participating DSS school, the direct right is already lost even if that school does not admit the child. If they later hold both that school’s offer and the 31 March successful notice, they must choose by 8 April 2027. Keeping the DSS place needs no action. Giving up the DSS place in order to keep Discretionary Places means notifying that school before the deadline and retrieving the undertaking and the original Primary 6 Student Record Form.
Common misunderstandings
“The school can see whether I ranked it first or second.” It cannot. Parents keep the fourth copy, which shows the order. Schools do not learn the ranking. Matching is done by the Bureau, using the parent’s order and the schools’ lists. The school does not pick while looking at the order.
“A written test is allowed if it is called an activity.” It is not. Schools may not set a written test of any form, including a computer or questionnaire test of subject knowledge. Interviews are allowed. The prohibition is aimed at the written test itself. Renaming that test is not an exception the Bureau has written down.
“Reserve applicants are phoned on 31 March.” They are not. That day, only the parents of successful applicants are notified, in writing and by phone, and the e-platform can be viewed from 10:00. Reserve families and unsuccessful families are not notified. A student who is not notified may still receive a Discretionary Places offer later as a reserve, or none. Results are published with Central Allocation on 6 July.
“Once we have a successful Discretionary Places notice, we can ignore the Central Allocation form.” The form must still be submitted. Parents tick the box, strike out the choices section and sign. A student allocated a Discretionary Places offer receives no Central Allocation place. Filling in choices anyway does not change the outcome. The form is required whether or not Discretionary Places were applied for.
“If one of them is a DSS school, I can apply to three.” A third participating school is not an extra slot. A participating DSS school is still a participating school and counts towards the limit of two. Applying to a third participating school voids the Discretionary Places application. Participating DSS schools may reserve more than 30% of places. That is the school’s reserved share, not permission for the student to apply to one more school. Non-participating DSS schools do not count towards the two. There is no limit on how many of them a student applies to. Accepting one of their places means signing a parental undertaking and handing over the original Primary 6 Student Record Form, which gives up any subsidised Secondary 1 place through allocation.
Next steps
For how Discretionary Places and Central Allocation fit together in the 2025/2027 cycle, see theSSPA process. For how notified families still complete the Central Allocation form, seeCA choice-form strategy. For how non-participating DSS schools differ from other DSS and private routes, seeDSS / private secondary.
Common questions
How many participating secondary schools may one student apply to for Discretionary Places?
Two at most. Applying to more than two participating schools voids the Discretionary Places application, and a participating Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) school counts towards those two. Non-participating DSS schools sit outside that cap, but accepting one of their places means signing a parental undertaking and handing over the original Primary 6 Student Record Form. Once submitted, a Discretionary Places application cannot be withdrawn, cancelled or re-ordered.
Can a school see the parent’s order of preference?
No. The two paper Secondary One Discretionary Places application forms are marked choice order 1 and 2, printed in random order on the pair. Parents tear off and keep the fourth copy, which shows the order. Schools do not learn whether the parent ranked them first or second.
May a Discretionary Places school set a written test or a computer test?
No written test of any form is allowed, including a computer or questionnaire test of subject knowledge. Schools may interview, and they must pre-publish their admission criteria and weightings. In the 2025/2027 cycle, interviews take place on or before the end of March 2027.
Does missing the interview void the application?
No. Missing the interview does not cancel an application already submitted. The student may still be placed on the successful list (正取) or the reserve list (備取) under the criteria the school has published. How that school treats an absence is a matter of those published criteria.
Are reserve or unsuccessful families notified on 31 March?
No. On 31 March 2027 schools notify only the parents of successful applicants, in writing and by phone. E-platform users can view the notice from 10:00 that morning, and parents need not reply. Reserve and unsuccessful families are not notified. A family that hears nothing may still receive a Discretionary Places offer later as a reserve, or none; results are published with Central Allocation on 6 July 2027.
If we already have a successful Discretionary Places notice, must we still submit the Central Allocation form?
Yes. A student allocated a Discretionary Places offer receives no Central Allocation place, but the parent still returns the Central Allocation form: tick the box, strike out the choices section and sign. Filling in choices anyway does not change the outcome. The form is required whether or not Discretionary Places were applied for. The e-platform window is 8 April to 5 May 2027.
If a Primary 6 student at a through-train primary applies for Discretionary Places, can they still proceed directly?
No. Applying for Discretionary Places at a participating school forfeits the right to proceed directly to the linked secondary. Applying to a non-participating DSS school (whether admitted or not), or joining Central Allocation, forfeits that right as well. A student who does none of those three may proceed directly. A through-train secondary reserves at least 15% of Secondary 1 places for outside students through Discretionary Places or Central Allocation.