A record high of 74 per cent of Primary Six pupils in Hong Kong were assigned to their preferred secondary school in the central allocation system, with the sector attributing the 12 percentage point increase to the shrinking pupil numbers.

This year marks the highest successful allocation rate since the revamped system was implemented in 2007. It coincides with a notable decline in the number of pupils taking part in the secondary school places allocation system, which has reached an eight-year low of 48,011.

The figure, announced by the Education Bureau on Monday, represents a decrease of 3,382 pupils, or 6.6 per cent, compared to last year – the largest drop recorded in 12 years.

The majority of the pupils taking part in the system this year were born in 2013, a year that saw a drastic nearly 40 per cent reduction in births following the former Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying’s imposition of a ban on pregnant Chinese women without a husband from Hong Kong giving birth in the city’s hospitals.

The proportion of pupils who secured their first choice was a sharp increase from 62 per cent last year, while those who were allocated their top three choices reached 91 per cent, also a record high since 2007.

There are two stages in the allocation of public secondary schools for pupils in Hong Kong.

Those in the first stage are granted school places based on discretionary factors, such as academic and interview performance. They can apply directly to one or two schools, with the results released in March.