Parents of Primary Six students participating in the current (2024) cycle of the Secondary School Places Allocation (SSPA) System who have made applications at the discretionary places (DP) stage will receive notifications tomorrow (March 27) from the secondary schools they have applied for if their children have been selected as successful applicants. Students who have not been notified as successful DP applicants can participate in the Central Allocation (CA), the Education Bureau (EDB) announced today (March 26).
Notification arrangements for successful DP applicants
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Under the notification arrangements for successful DP applicants, if students are included by participating secondary schools in their Successful Lists for Discretionary Places, their parents will receive notifications from the secondary schools concerned on March 27. Parents who have registered as SSPA e-platform (eSSPA) users with “iAM Smart” or “iAM Smart+” may also view notifications for successful DP applicants via the eSSPA starting from 10am on the same day. Parents do not need to reply to the secondary schools whether they would accept the DP offers.
Parents of successful DP applicants who have also successfully applied for a school place in a non-participating Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) secondary school should decide between the two options. If the parents decide to accept the offer from the non-participating DSS secondary school, they should disregard the notifications from the secondary schools which have selected their children at the DP stage. Their children will be allocated to the DSS secondary school concerned according to the established mechanism. If the parents decide to decline the offer from the non-participating DSS secondary school, they should notify the DSS secondary school concerned and retrieve the originals of the signed Parent’s Undertaking and the Primary 6 Student Record Form on or before April 10 in order to retain the school place successfully applied for at the DP stage.
Distribution of school choice documents for CA
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Parents who have registered as eSSPA users and bound their account to “iAM Smart+” may browse choice-making information and documents, submit CA applications and view allocation results via the eSSPA. To cater for the needs of different parents, traditional paper application forms will continue to be accepted, and primary schools participating in the SSPA System have been informed to collect copies of the following documents on April 9:
- Secondary One Choice of Schools Form (Choice Form);
- Notes for Parents on Central Allocation (Notes for Parents);
- Secondary School List (SSL); and
- Handbook for Unrestricted School Choices (Handbook).
Parents of Primary Six students participating in the SSPA will each receive the Choice Form, the Notes for Parents and the SSL (with the latest version available online) for the school net of the student from his or her primary school. Parents may ask for the Handbook for reference from primary schools or obtain the latest version of the Handbook through the EDB website (
www.edb.gov.hk) and the fax service of the EDB’s 24-hour automatic telephone enquiry system on 2891 0088.
Filling in CA Choice Form
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Both the electronic and paper Choice Forms are divided into two parts (Part A and Part B). Parents should refer to the Handbook with information of secondary schools in all districts when filling in Part A “Unrestricted School Choices” of the Choice Form and choose not more than three secondary schools from any school net, including the student’s school net. As for Part B “Restricted School Choices”, parents should refer to their child’s SSL to choose secondary schools according to their preference, and fill up the 30 choices as far as possible. Parents must not enter any school choices which are not in the SSL of the school net of the child in Part B since invalid school choices will not be processed.
The EDB reminded parents that prior to making school choices for their children, they should read carefully the Notes for Parents to understand in detail the SSPA System. Parents should also consider the schools in all respects, such as their educational philosophy, tradition, religion, class structure, development and operation, and their children’s characteristics, personalities, abilities and interests, so as to make a suitable school choice. Parents may refer to the Secondary School Profiles 2023/2024 (
www.chsc.hk/secondary) or school websites for the relevant information.
Parents must return the completed electronic or paper Choice Form to their children’s primary school for submission to the EDB on or before May 6. Parents should not submit duplicate applications via the eSSPA and in paper form to the attending primary school for the same child. Should individual parents have genuine difficulties in returning the duly completed Choice Form to their children’s primary school in person or through an authorised representative, he or she should contact the primary school in advance for an appropriate arrangement.
Announcement of allocation results for SSPA
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The results for SSPA 2024 for both the DP and CA stages will be announced on July 9. Parents who have registered as eSSPA users with “iAM Smart” or “iAM Smart+” may view the allocation results via the eSSPA starting from 10am on the same day. Parents wishing to receive the result of their children via SMS message on that day should provide a mobile phone number on the electronic or paper Choice Form to indicate their consent to receive the result at that phone number. Parents may refer to the Notes for Parents for more information.
The EDB encourages parents to register with “iAM Smart+” (
www.iamsmart.gov.hk/reg.html) as early as possible for more convenient and faster services throughout the entire Secondary One application process. Please refer to the series of related videos and the Parent’s Guide on the bureau’s homepage (
www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/primary-secondary/spa-systems/secondary-spa/general-info/sspa_eplatform_parents_guide.html) for details on creating and logging into an eSSPA account, viewing notifications for successful DP applicants, and submitting CA applications via the eSSPA.
Parents who have questions about completing the Choice Form are advised to consult their children’s primary schools. Relevant information about the SSPA System and some frequently asked questions will be uploaded to the EDB’s homepage on April 9 for parents’ reference. Further enquiries may also be directed to the School Places Allocation Section (SSPA) of the EDB (Tel: 2832 7740 and 2832 7700).
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