Parents seek spots with popular schools despite record-high allocation results

Many Hong Kong parents still sought places at popular primary schools for their children despite a record high of 86 per cent of pupils being allocated to institutions they preferred.

A day after the Education Bureau sent premature SMS notifications about the allocations – which listed the correct school choices but the wrong calendar year – some principals and parents said the rare blunder had limited impact on the post-allocation process.

Some parents said they even had a little extra time to plan applications to additional schools as a result of the premature notification ahead of the official announcement of the results on Wednesday.

This year, a record high of about 86 per cent of children secured one of their top three primary school choices through central allocation, up from 79 per cent last year, as applicant numbers fell by 16 per cent to 16,345.

But popular schools still drew strong demand, with Yaumati Catholic Primary School in Yau Tsim Mong district receiving around 50 post-allocation applications on Wednesday, similar to last year. Principal Jessie Cheung Chok-fong said the early notification did not affect parents’ decisions.

“Most parents have downloaded the application form beforehand and act immediately once they confirm the results,” she said.