Two stages
The Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) system has two stages: Discretionary Places and Central Allocation. TheSSPA timelinelists the year’s dates; theSSPA calculatorworks out the within-school weighted score.
Discretionary Places
Each participating secondary school may reserve up to 30% of its Secondary 1 places for Discretionary Places; participating Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) schools may exceed 30%. Parents may apply to a maximum of two schools, in any district. Schools set their own criteria — typically academics, conduct and activities. Interviews are allowed; written tests are not.
Applications for the 2026 cycle ran from 2 to 16 January. Participating schools notified successful (“正取”) applicants on 31 March 2026. A student admitted at this stage cannot receive another place at Central Allocation.
Central Allocation
After deducting repeaters’ places and Discretionary Places, the remaining Secondary 1 places are allocated centrally: about 10% through Part A (up to 3 choices, any school net) and about 90% through Part B (up to 30 choices, the student’s own net). The computer allocates band by band (Band 1 choices first), within a band by choice order, and among students in the same band with the same choice by a randomly assigned number. If Part A gives a place, Part B is skipped.
Banding
Three equal bands are cut from standardised, school-adjusted scores. The school adjustment uses the average of the school’s Pre-Secondary One Hong Kong Attainment Test (Pre-S1 HKAT) samples; for the 2024/2026 cycle those samples are 2018 and 2024. A territory band is used for Part A and a school-net band for Part B. Individual assignments are never published. See thebanding estimator.
After results: leftover places (叩門)
After Central Allocation results in July, parents may approach schools directly for leftover places (叩門). Schools commonly look at all three submissions (呈三 included), the allocation result slip and interviews. This is entirely school-run and sits outside the central system.
Filling in choices — general guidance
The following is general guidance, not an Education Bureau rule. Part A is the low-odds cross-net shot. Part B order matters because choices are processed strictly in order within each band, so putting realistic schools in the top third of Part B matters more than filling all 30 boxes.