About 60% of 81,855 Primary Six students participating in this year's secondary school places allocation have been given their first choice, compared to 58.3% last year.

The results will be announced tomorrow and all Primary Six students who have taken part in the scheme should return to their schools to collect the allocation slip/admission slip.

The Education & Manpower Bureau believed that the record high satisfaction level might be attributable to the increase in the number of through-train and Direct Subsidy Scheme schools, and the fact that both parents and schools had made better use of the discretionary places.

This year, 13,016 students (15.9%) were successful in obtaining discretionary places, up from 15.2% last year; 62,652 students (or 76.5%) were allocated to schools of their first three choices, up from 75.7% last year.

Starting this year, the computer allocation programme had been enhanced to consider all the 30 school choices indicated one by one in the central allocation stage.

Compared with the past practice of considering the choices by seven groups (that is, the first five choices separately, subsequently the sixth to 15th choices as a group, and finally the 16th to 30th choices as another group), the new arrangement could better care for parental preference.

The registration period will take place on Thursday and Friday. Students must report during the registration period to the secondary schools allocated. 

Failure to do so will mean that they have chosen to give up the places allocated.

For enquiries about the allocation results, please call the bureau's school places allocation section on 2832 7740 or 2832 7700 during office hours.