Secondary School Admission Guide
The differences between government-run, aided, direct subsidy scheme, and private secondary schools
Government Secondary Schools
Government secondary schools are run by the government and directly managed by the Education Bureau. All teachers and staff are civil servants.
Admissions method: Generally, students must participate in the Education Bureau's "Secondary School Place Allocation Regulations" to be admitted.
Tuition: No tuition fee is required.
Curriculum: The core curriculum is arranged according to the guidelines of the Education Bureau, and special courses are also designed according to the individual needs of each school.
Popular schools include: Queen's College, King's College, Tsuen Wan Government Secondary School, Belilios Girls' School, etc.
Aided Secondary Schools
Aided schools, also known as government-sponsored schools, are schools that are not sponsored by the government but receive subsidies from taxpayers.
Admissions method: Similar to government secondary schools, they generally have to participate in the Education Bureau's "Secondary School Place Allocation Regulations" to admit students.
Tuition: No tuition fee is required.
Curriculum: Basically the same as government secondary schools. In addition to the core curriculum arranged according to the Education Bureau’s guidelines, special courses can also be designed according to individual school needs.
Popular schools include: La Salle College , Jockey Club Sports and Arts Secondary School , Maryknoll Convent School (Secondary Section) , etc.
Direct Subsidy Secondary School
Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) schools are funded by the Hong Kong government based on the number of eligible students, but they have greater autonomy than government schools and subsidized schools . They can set their own curriculum, fees and admission criteria, and can decide whether to participate in the Central Allocation System .
Admission methods: About 20 Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) schools will participate in the "Secondary School Place Allocation Act", while the other 40 DSS schools will set their own admission procedures and application dates for Form 1.
Tuition fees: Tuition fees are required and range from over 2,000 to 80,000 yuan per year.
Curriculum: Like government and subsidized secondary schools, Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) secondary schools provide local courses for students. However, they are more flexible in terms of curriculum design, language of instruction, and resource utilization.
Popular schools include: Diocesan Boys' School, St. Paul's Co-educational College, and Anglo-Chinese College.
Private secondary schools
Private secondary schools are schools founded and operated by the private sector at their own expense. They are managed by a board of directors and do not receive government funding.
Admission method: The school decides its own admission method for Form 1 students and does not need to participate in the secondary school place allocation method set by the Education Bureau.
Tuition fees: Tuition fees are required and range from over 20,000 to over 200,000 per year.
Curriculum: Similar to Direct Subsidy Scheme schools, private secondary schools have a great deal of freedom in curriculum development.
A small number of schools offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) program.
After graduation, students can pursue further studies at local or overseas universities.
Popular schools include: Hong Kong Academy , Han Ding College, and Malvern College Hong Kong .
International School
International schools in Hong Kong refer to schools that provide education for children whose mother tongue is not Chinese.
There are three types of international schools in Hong Kong: private, government-run, and subsidized, but the majority are private, and there are more than 40 such schools.
Therefore, the school has complete autonomy in curriculum and student admissions.
In addition to the more popular International Baccalaureate ( IB) curriculum,
Many schools offer convenient pathways to further education abroad.
For example, National Curriculum for England (NCfE), Section internationale américaine (SIA), etc.
Direct Subsidy Scheme / Private School Application Periods and Registration Dates
Diocesan Girls' School
ELCHK Lutheran Academy
Po Leung Kuk Law’s Foundation College
The Chinese Foundation Secondary School
Good Hope School
Heep Yunn School
G.T. (Ellen Yeung) College
Chinese YMCA Secondary School
Diocesan Boys' School
Stewards Pooi Kei College
St. Paul's Convent School
Ying Wa College
St. Paul's College
Tak Sun Secondary School
Po Leung Kuk Ngan Po Ling College
HKMA David Li Kwok Po College
Lam Tai Fai College
Hong Kong Baptist University Affiliated School Wong Kam Fai Secondary and Primary School
HKFYG Lee Shau Kee College
St. Stephen's College
Creative Secondary School
Fukien Secondary School
St. Margaret's Co-Educational English Secondary and Primary School
United Christian College (Kowloon East)
Tsung Tsin Christian Academy
St. Paul's Co-educational College
HKUGA College
Sep 29–Oct 8, 2025
Sep 22–Nov 14, 2025
Sep 23–Dec 15, 2025
Oct 6–Dec 14, 2025
Oct 6–Nov 14, 2025
Oct 11–23, 2025
Sep 22–Nov 17, 2025
Oct 13–Dec 1, 2025
Oct 13–Nov 14, 2025
Deadline: Dec 10, 2025
Oct 18–Nov 29, 2025
No specific period
Nov 8–Dec 1, 2025
Oct 31, 2025–Jan 4, 2026
Nov 17–Dec 24, 2025
Nov 2–Dec 15, 2025
From Nov 17, 2025
Nov 8–Dec 9, 2025
Oct 31–Dec 15, 2025
Oct 4–Dec 5, 2025
Sep 16–Nov 24, 2025
Sep 29–Nov 21, 2025
Oct 4–Dec 16, 2025
Sep 29, 2025–Jan 5, 2026
Nov 1–Jan 9, 2026
Oct 27–Nov 14, 2025
Nov 12–Dec 16, 2025