POA school net guide
Primary One Admission (POA) assigns most government and aided places by residential “school net”. DSS and private schools usually recruit separately.
What is POA?
Each year the Education Bureau publishes central-allocation school lists by net. Children normally apply within the net of their residential address; cross-net options are limited. Net numbers are not the same as administrative districts — one district can cover several nets, and nets can span district boundaries.
How to use this site
On the rankings page, filter by POA school net, or start from the 18 districts list. School pages show nets, funding type and competitiveness. Media shortlist scores estimate public competitiveness — they are not admission odds.
Sources and limits
Net mapping follows EDB’s 2026 POA school lists (mainly government/aided). DSS/private schools may not appear on those lists. Ranks combine Yahoo Parenting and similar media shortlists with web-research estimates elsewhere. Always confirm with EDB and the schools.
FAQ
- What’s the difference between a school net and a district?
- Districts are administrative areas (e.g. Kowloon City). POA nets define central-allocation choice lists. One district can contain several nets — use your residential net when applying.
- Do DSS and private schools use POA?
- Usually not. They run their own admissions and often sit outside central-allocation lists. We still list them for comparison; the net field may be empty.
- Does a high rank mean easier admission?
- No. Our scores reflect media shortlist or estimated competitiveness, not Discretionary Places rules or applicant numbers. Follow official EDB and school notices.