A total of 39,774 local students received their results for the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination today.
Of the students who sat the exams, 36,106 applied to the Joint University Programmes Admission System (Jupas) and are competing for 14,500 first-degree places.
This year, the number of students scoring three or more As has gone up by a third.
One student scored six straight As, 21 got five As, 68 secured four and 276 earned three, according to the Examinations and Assessment Authority.
The number of special needs students has also increased from 162 last year to 216 this year.
This year, five of these students were among the top achievers. One of them was Ma Yuet-kwan, 20, a Form Seven student at the Church of Christ In China - Ming Yin College.