The Hong Kong education and schooling system explained.  

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The Hong Kong education system has been closely modeled on the one found in the UK.  This is hardly surprising since Hong Kong was administered by Britain from 1841 to 1997, when the former UK colony was handed back to China. There are nine years of compulsory schooling in Hong king, six in primary school and three in junior secondary school.  However, there is considerably more than this to the education system.  The majority of students attend three years of kindergarten (K1-K3) before attending primary school.  In secondary school, following the compulsory three years, there are two years of senior secondary education (forms 4 and 5) and then two years of matriculation leading to the Hong Kong Advanced Level examinations.  Students gain entry to a range of post-secondary, vocational and tertiary courses offered by a variety of institutions based on their results in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examinations (at the end of form 5) or the Hong Kong A-Level examinations.

Aside from the government system there are private, International schools.  The style of education, the language(s) of instruction and the international curricula offered by these schools appeal to both expatriate and local parents.  Many of these schools have waiting lists and all charge higher (and in many cases, much higher) tuition fees than local schools.

In the past, the local education system has been very exam-orientated.  However, in recent years there have been some moves towards fewer exams and more continuous and formative assessment. Schools usually have a strict discipline code and virtually all students wear school uniform.

Primary schools used to be separated into morning (AM) and afternoon (PM) schools as a method of dealing with the problems of a lack of space and the large student numbers.  However, with changing demographics and a falling birth rate, most primary schools have moved to become whole-day schools.

While most schools are co-ed, there are a number of well-known schools with good reputations which are single-sex. 

Kindergartens

Since 1997, there have been changes to a lot of kindergartens as a way of professionalising them.  Most of the changes have involved minimum teaching qualifications for both kindergarten teaching staff and principals.  As the government has also placed more emphasis on the importance of early childhood education, the curriculum in kindergartens has now been designed to provide a sound foundation for students.

Primary Education

The majority of local Primary schools in Hong Kong are Chinese medium and the primary curriculum covers a wide range of subjects including Social Studies, Science, Chinese, English Mathematics, Music, Art and Physical Education.

Students are allocated to Secondly schools through their performance in three examinations taken in Primary 5 and Primary 6.  Schools are extremely competitive and parents naturally have a strong preference for their child to be allocated to a top or higher band school.

Recently, primary school numbers have bee shrinking causing the closure of some schools and resulting in the need for some teacher redundancies.

Class numbers are traditionally much larger in Hong Kong than they are in Western countries.  An average class, in both primary and secondary school, would have over 35 students and can have as many as 45.  The shrinking enrollments have seen a lot of debate about smaller class sizes but so far the numbers of students in a class have not been greatly reduced.

Secondary Education

The first year of secondary school, known as Form or Secondary One, follows six years of primary education.  Forms 1 – 3 have compulsory attendance and in junior secondary, the learning is broader, without students choosing specific study areas.

The majority of local secondary schools became Chinese Medium of Instruction (CMI) after the Handover in 1997.

In Secondary 4, students specialize, usually choosing between the Arts (or Humanities) stream, the Commercial stream or the Science stream of study.  Mathematics, Chinese and English remain compulsory, as does Physical Education.

During Secondary 4 and 5, students prepare for the HKCEE (Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examinations) which they take in the final quarter of Secondary 5.  This is roughly equivalent to the GCSE taken in the UK. It is the results from the HKCEE which determine promotion to Form 6.

In Form 6, students prepare for the matriculation exams (the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examinations) which are taken half way through Form 7 – so the preparation for the exams takes about 18 months. Students need a pass (Grade E or above) in Chinese and English in order to have the minimum requirements to enter a local university.  Different entry requirements exist for different tertiary courses and a large number of students also apply to study abroad – usually after HKCEE or after HKALE.

International students rarely take the local public examinations.  Once the UK GCSE / A-levels were popular among many of Hong Kong’s International schools but now the International Baccalaureate (IB) is the becoming a much common programme at the diploma level.  Many country's International schools teach a syllabus from their own country. Students also might take the SAT or IELTS in order to gain entry to an overseas university.

Several Direct-subsidy “local” schools with good reputations have also expressed an interest in offering the IB in the future and moving away from the local examination system. The government’s proposed new secondary curriculum (the 3+3+4) is thought to be one of the reasons for these schools moving towards the IB.

Tertiary Education

Tertiary education is important in Hong Kong.  There are eight universities here and several other tertiary institutions without university status. All the tertiary institutions offer a range of programmes including undergraduate and post-graduate degrees, as well as Associate degrees and Higher Diplomas.

The number of places available for undergraduate degrees is substantially less than the number of students who actually fulfill the entry requirements for general admission to university.  Approximately 20% of the students who reach the required grades in the HKALE are not able to gain a place at a university.  For these students, studying an Associate degree or Higher diploma programme, which may lead to articulation with a degree course at a later date, is a popular option.  It is also sometimes possible for course transfers from a successfully completed Higher diploma or Associate degree into overseas degree programmes with some credit transfer to take place.

Of the Hong Kong universities, The University of Hong Kong and the Chinese University of Hong Kong have the best reputations. The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology has been developing a strong name in the area of Technology and Business.

In terms of post-graduate study, the trend for local Hong Kong people is to complete post-graduate qualifications abroad.  In terms of the post-graduate students at local universities, a significant number of them have come from Mainland China.

Adult Education

Life-long learning has become a popular catch cry from the government and certainly taking a course seems to be a common activity among the adult population.  The majority of the universities have schools which offer non-degree, adult learning courses and there are a range of other institutions as well, offering professional, general education and interest courses. Language courses, especially English, Mandarin and Japanese are common, and many adults study as a means of improving their prospects in the employment market.  The government has even established a scheme which enables adult learners to apply for course fee reimbursement for approved courses.  There is also the Open University of Hong Kong, run along similar lines to the UK one, which gives more people the opportunity to study for a degree.

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