For many young children, Monday may have been the first time they experienced the bitter taste of rejection for a school place. At five or six years old, they already know what's going on.
This year, only about one in two applicants secured a place at a government or aided primary school of their own choice, in the first round of selection which was announced on Monday. The rest must enter the central allocation system - essentially a lottery draw.
This will guarantee a school place for next year, but it may not be at a school high on the list of parents' preferences. And it means another six months of agonised waiting for parents and child, before the results are announced in June.
The financially better off may opt for private schools or direct-subsidy ones. But paying for schooling may not be an option for many families, especially large ones.
For some parents, Monday no doubt brought back a deep sense of deja vu: having endured rejections when they were students, they now have to endure the same for their own children.
At one primary school, I watched a young mother silently check the posted lists of 30-odd successful applicants out of more than 440; and recheck them. Holding back the tears, she pushed numbers on her mobile phone then spoke quietly into it: their boy didn't make it. I have rarely seen a more pained, disappointed look on a person's face.
What is wrong with this system, or is there something not right about the woman's expectations?
