Education in Hong Kong: the 3-3-4 structure, the HKDSE and JUPAS admission

In short

Hong Kong follows a 3-3-4 academic structure: three years of junior secondary school, three years of senior secondary school and a four-year university degree. Students sit one public exam at the end of senior secondary, the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education, called the HKDSE. Its results are used for most local university places through a joint application scheme. The territory also has many international schools that teach other curricula, so the path a student takes depends on the school type.

School stages

Primary school lasts six years and is followed by three years of junior secondary school. Nine years of schooling is free and compulsory. Senior secondary school lasts three years, and since the reform of 2009 students there follow a common curriculum with core subjects and electives, with no division into arts and science streams. The Education Bureau sets the curriculum framework. Schools are government schools, aided schools run by sponsoring bodies, direct subsidy schools, private schools and international schools.

Language of instruction is a topic of its own in Hong Kong. Many secondary schools teach most subjects in English, while others teach in Chinese and offer English as a subject, and schools describe their policy openly. Chinese lessons may be taught in Cantonese or Putonghua, and written Chinese is in traditional characters.

The HKDSE

The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, the HKEAA, runs the HKDSE. It replaced the older HKCEE and HKALE, so one exam now serves as the school-leaving certificate and the university entry qualification. The structure has these parts:

• Core subjects: Chinese Language, English Language, Mathematics and Citizenship and Social Development. The last one replaced Liberal Studies from the 2024 exam, and its results are reported as attained or unattained, not as a grade.
• Electives: students usually take two or three from a wide list that includes sciences, humanities, business and arts subjects. Mathematics also offers extension modules for students who want more depth.
• Other categories: the HKEAA also lists Applied Learning subjects with a more practical focus, and some other-language subjects.
• School-based assessment: in several subjects a part of the result comes from work that teachers assess during the course, such as practical work or a project.

Results are given in levels, and the highest ones carry stars. The HKEAA website explains the grading system and the dates of each year.

University admission

The Joint University Programmes Admissions System, known as JUPAS, is the main route for local students with HKDSE results. Applicants list programmes in an order of preference, and universities offer places by their own rules, which usually weigh the core subjects and relevant electives. JUPAS covers government-funded degrees and many other full-time programmes. Students can also apply directly to a university outside JUPAS, which is called Non-JUPAS, and this is common for applicants with international qualifications or from outside Hong Kong. Each university publishes its own entry requirements and language conditions, so read them for each programme.

International qualifications

Some schools prepare students for the International Baccalaureate Diploma, and others for Cambridge or other A-Level exams. Universities in Hong Kong accept these qualifications for direct admission, and they also accept tests such as the SAT for some programmes. English tests such as IELTS and TOEFL are used by applicants who studied in another language.

Studying in Hong Kong

Hong Kong students juggle three written languages in daily life: Chinese, English and, for many, the home language. The study habits below suit the HKDSE route:

1. Start the school-based assessment tasks early. They are done during the term, and a planned timetable keeps the pressure away from the exam months.
2. Practise past papers in the style of the HKEAA. Papers have a fixed layout, so students who know the layout save time.
3. For English, write under timed conditions, and check that each paragraph has a clear purpose. Writing papers reward structure and tone for the task.
4. For Chinese, build a vocabulary notebook of classical and modern terms, and practise both reading and writing every week.
5. For mathematics, choose early whether an extension module fits your plan, and train on word problems that need several steps.
6. Use the long summer before senior secondary to read widely in the languages in which you will be examined.

Students who plan to study abroad often add an English test or the SAT in the last year, and they should plan the dates so they do not clash with school exams.

Preparing with GetMyMockTest

GetMyMockTest offers free practice in English for the exams below. Check the official format with each organiser.

• HKDSE (Hong Kong): practice questions in English in the style of the school-leaving diploma.
• Cambridge A-Level: practice for students in schools that teach the A-Level curriculum.
• IB Diploma: practice for students in international schools.
• IELTS and TOEFL: English-language practice for study abroad.
• SAT: practice for undergraduate applications that use this test.

Every question, explanation, mock test and flashcard deck is free.

Civil service recruitment

Applicants for most civil service grades in Hong Kong sit the Common Recruitment Examination, called the CRE, which covers Chinese language, English language and an aptitude test, and many posts also ask for the Basic Law Test. The Basic Law is the constitutional document of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, so the test checks knowledge of its structure and main Articles. Each grade states its entry requirements in its own recruitment notice.