Hong Kong authorities have approved five secondary schools, including some elite institutions, to open an additional Form One class from September.

According to the Education Bureau on Thursday, the five schools include Queen’s College and Wah Yan College Hong Kong, both top boys’ schools in Wan Chai. The other three, all located in the North district near the border, are Christian Alliance S W Chan Memorial College, TWGHs Kap Yan Directors’ College and TWGHs Li Ka Shing College.

Queen’s College and Wah Yan College Hong Kong, regarded as elite boys’ schools, currently each operate four Form One classes, with about 35 to 36 students per class in the 2023–24 school year.

The expansion means around 70 more students will be admitted to these two schools in the coming year compared with the current term.

The three North district schools currently run five Form One classes, though one of these classes at each school was “provisional”, according to the bureau.

From September, all three will formally operate five Form One classes. They each had around 33 to 34 students per class in 2023–24.

In May, the Education Bureau announced that secondary schools with four Form One classes could apply to open one more in the new school year, with a cap of five approvals. The bureau said the policy aimed to provide quality education and respond to parents’ needs.