The Education Bureau today announced the optimised arrangements on the weighting of subjects in the Internal Assessments (IA) for the Secondary School Places Allocation System.

The enhanced weighting will be implemented from the second term of Primary 5 starting from the 2026-27 school year, the bureau explained, adding that the aim of the arrangements is to further promote whole-person development, balanced learning and the healthy growth of students.

Primary Science and Primary Humanities will be implemented, in lieu of General Studies, in Primary 1 and Primary 4 in all primary schools from the 2025-26 school year and progressively extended to all grades. In light of this, the two subjects will be incorporated into the IA.

Additionally, to further promote students' healthy lifestyle and help them develop a habit of joining sports activities from a young age for strengthening their physique, the bureau considers it desirable to include Physical Education (PE) in the IA.

It has therefore reviewed the weighting of IA subjects, and collected views from different stakeholders, including principals, teachers, and PE and medical-related professionals. After thorough deliberation and consolidation of their views, the total weighting of IA subjects will remain unchanged.

The related optimised arrangements include adjusting the weighting across subjects appropriately to better cater for learner diversity and to reflect students' performance more comprehensively, and slightly adjusting the weighting of Chinese Language, English Language and Mathematics Education to release space for the learning and teaching of students and teachers.

Such arrangements also involve having equal weighting for Primary Science and Primary Humanities to nurture students' balanced development of scientific literacy and humanistic qualities, and adding PE with a weighting equal to that of Visual Arts and Music to promote students' whole-person development.

Click here for the current and optimised weighting of IA subjects.

The bureau pointed out that the modes of assessment of PE in the IA are consistent with the existing assessment modes adopted by schools, both of which include physical fitness, attitudes, sports skills and knowledge as assessment domains.

Schools can plan their PE curriculum according to the requirements of the Physical Education Key Learning Area Curriculum Guide, school characteristics, school environment and facilities, and teachers' experience for providing diversified PE learning experiences for students as well as catering for their varied abilities and needs, it added.

Apart from organising briefing sessions for schools and parents on the optimised arrangements, the bureau said that it will offer related professional training for teachers.

For details of the optimised arrangements, please visit the bureau's designated webpage.