Hong Kong may place more emphasis on sports when assessing pupils for secondary school. Photo: May TseHong Kong primary school students’ sports performance may be under the scanner along with their academic report cards. The SCMP has learned that this change may be seen under a revised grading rubric for allocations to secondary school.
The Education Bureau submitted its proposal after authorities earlier revamped the curriculum to split the current general studies subject into science and humanities, and placing a significant emphasis on patriotic education.
Under the current practice, schools internally evaluate their pupils for secondary school allocation with three rounds of exams – one in the latter term of Primary Five and two in Primary Six – and submit those scores to the Education Bureau under a standardised 38-point system.
Core subjects such as Chinese language, English and mathematics currently take up nine points each; general studies six; music two; and visual arts three. Physical education (PE) does not currently take up any points.
However, according to sources familiar with the new proposal, pupils graded under the new rubric for secondary school allocation would have their performance in PE included, with the subject taking up two points.
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Chinese, English and mathematics would be lowered to eight points each, while the two new courses on science and humanities would each take up four points. Music and visual arts would take up two points each. The total will still add up to 38 points.
Primary One and Primary Four pupils in the 2025-26 school year would be the first batch to study the new science and humanities subjects, with full implementation in 2027-28.
The revamped assessment for secondary school places would be implemented from the 2026-27 academic year onwards, when the first batch of pupils taking the two new subjects enter Primary Five.
Principal Polly Chan Suk-yee, vice-chairwoman of the Hong Kong Aided Primary School Heads Association, said the bureau had consulted representatives in the sector earlier but no final decision on the plan had been made.
She said the proposed revamp was intended to promote a more holistic development of pupils from the primary school level.
“It would be fairer to include physical education as Hong Kong also attaches importance to sports development,” she said, adding that she expected authorities would make arrangements for those who were physically disabled or who had special education needs.
Education sector lawmaker Chu Kwok-keung suggested authorities allow sufficient time for schools to adjust to the proposed changes, especially for physical education.
“For example, we can score the pupils without using the grading [for the school place allocation],” he told a radio programme on Tuesday. “The physical quality of students varies greatly. A grading system can cause stress as pupils compare themselves to their peers.”
Chu Wai-lam, the chairman of the New Territories School Heads Association, and Lobo Louie Hung-tak, senior lecturer of health and physical education at the Education University, agreed that the new marking regime could improve pupils’ health and thereby lower society’s healthcare burden in the long run.
Chu, principal of the Fung Kai No 1 Primary School, added that he would increase physical education classes to three sessions per week, a move to align with the World Health Organization’s recommendation that adolescents engage in at least 60 minutes of exercise daily.
Louie described the practice of sports as a fundamental right for students to improve their physical and mental health.
“From past experience, we can see that students and parents will not pay attention to subjects that do not require examinations,” he said.
“If exams are needed to draw societal attention to the development of personal physical and mental health, we shouldn’t regard such a move so negatively.”