Cross-border applicants to Sheung Shui school down as parents use inside track
Highly competitive schools have more 'inherited pupils' this year, pushing down the number of discretionary openings
The number of cross-border children applying for discretionary Primary One places in one of the city's most competitive school districts has decreased this year, the head of the district's principals' association said.
Chan Siu-hung, who is also principal of Wai Chow Public School in the border area of Sheung Shui, attributed the decrease to a rise in the number of places granted to children with siblings or parents already working or studying at the school.
The number of so-called inherited pupils has increased by 10 per cent for this school year, leaving fewer discretionary places for others.
"Many parents knew that there was very little chance that their children would be admitted," Chan said.
Fewer than 100 out of the 250 applicants were cross-border pupils, compared to 150 out of 300 applicants last year, Chan said.
The school offered 75 places this year, and 45 were taken by inherited pupils. The other 30 children admitted all have relatives who are alumni of the school, Chan said.
The competition for primary school places in Sheung Shui and neighbouring areas in North District has intensified in recent years due to an influx of children born in Hong Kong to mainland parents. Last year, the government introduced a policy to enable schools in other districts to share the load, which led to many cross-border pupils being allocated to remote areas such as Tuen Mun, Tin Shui Wai and Tung Chung.
Parents complained that their young children were forced to travel for hours to get to school.
Chan said the policy might have "scared off" some mainland parents, who might have opted to send their children to mainland schools instead.
Overall, in Hong Kong only 22,465 - about 43 per cent - out of the 52,314 children seeking first-year discretionary places were admitted to the primary schools they applied to. The percentage, although slightly higher than last year, is the second-lowest in the past 17 years.
Inherited pupils took some 10,951 places - about half of those admitted.
David Young, a Hongkonger who lives and works on the mainland, moved back with his mainland wife in September to live closer to Wai Chow Public School, where their first son is studying and their second son was just admitted as an inherited student. The couple now rents a flat in Sheung Shui for about HK$10,000 a month.
Although Young, who runs an English-training centre on the mainland, must now travel more frequently, he said it was worth it because he wanted his sons to receive a traditional Hong Kong education. He even bought a property in Huizhou in Guangdong Province to become a member of Wai Chow's clan association, giving his first son a higher chance at getting in.
