At 5pm, the light was already fading outside HKBUAS Wong Kam Fai Secondary School in Shek Mun as a group of about 10 pupils began yet another weekly lesson.
The focus was on the core subjects of Chinese, English, maths and liberal studies, but foremost on the pupils' minds was the new Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) examinations, which they and nearly 80,000 other pupils from schools across the city will sit for the first time in March.
The pupils, who had been chatting among themselves, quickly switched to preparation mode, putting bottled drinks, books and stationery on the desks before them as their liberal studies teacher entered the room.
The HKDSE, part of reforms that have reduced secondary school from seven years to six, followed by four years of university instead of three, under a '3-3-4' structure, will replace the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and the Hong Kong A-Level exam. Next year, the Hong Kong A-Level exam will be taken for the last time, by nearly 40,000 pupils, also in March.
As the old and the new secondary syllabuses overlap, nearly 120,000 pupils are expected to apply for university places next year, up from about 40,000 this year, creating intense competition for limited spaces. Hong Kong's eight universities will face an uphill task to vet the surge of applications, with some bringing their admissions programmes forward by about six months in anticipation of the two entry exams, and some making arrangements to expand their 2012 intake. However, only 15,000 places have been allocated to candidates from each exam.
Among pupils, feelings of panic have been reported as they prepare for the first HKDSE exam, leading to cramming sessions such as the one at the Shek Mun school.
Many pupils are also receiving additional support at tutorial centres that have capitalised on parents' worries about the new exam.