What Is the Hong Kong Curriculum and How Is It Structured?
What Is the Hong Kong Curriculum and How Is It Structured?
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Step by step
How is the curriculum structured, stage by stage?
- Kindergarten (ages 3 to 6)Registered with the Education Bureau, mostly delivered through the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme, split into nursery, lower and upper kindergarten classes.
- Primary One to Six (P1–P6)Six years of primary school; admission is based on a child reaching age five years eight months by 1 September.
- Junior Secondary (S1–S3)Three years covering the eight Key Learning Areas at a foundational level before subject choices narrow.
- Senior Secondary (S4–S6)Three years building to the HKDSE, with four core subjects and a set of elective subjects chosen by the student.
- University (four years)The "4" in 6-3-3-4, entered on the strength of HKDSE results through the local admissions system.
The subject map
What are the eight Key Learning Areas?
The Curriculum Development Council organizes all subject content, from kindergarten through senior secondary, into eight KLAs: Chinese Language Education, English Language Education, Mathematics Education, Science Education, Technology Education, Personal, Social and Humanities Education, Arts Education, and Physical Education. Each KLA has its own committee and its own curriculum guides, and individual subjects like Physics, History or Visual Arts sit inside the relevant KLA rather than standing alone. Senior secondary narrows this down to four core subjects, Chinese Language, English Language, Mathematics and Citizenship and Social Development, plus elective subjects a student picks from within the eight areas.
The two main curriculum guide documents that set out how this content is sequenced are the Basic Education Curriculum Guide for Primary 1 to 6 and the Secondary Education Curriculum Guide, issued in several subject-area booklets. Both guides sit under the Curriculum Development Council and are the reference point a school-based scheme of work is meant to draw on, though how each school implements that guidance in practice is left to its own subject panels.
Recent changes
What changed in the curriculum recently?
- Liberal Studies replaced by Citizenship and Social Development, from S4 in 2021/22
- First HKDSE exam in Citizenship and Social Development held in 2024
- Life and Society replaced by Citizenship, Economics and Society from S1, full rollout September 2024
- HKDSE Chinese Language dropped its Paper 4 speaking exam from the 2023 sitting onward
- Citizenship and Social Development is reported as Attained or Unattained, not on the 1–5 scale
- 12 years of education are free across primary and secondary school
Good to know
None of the material linked on this page is an EDB or CDC publication, and none of it is written against a specific Hong Kong curriculum guide. What it offers is general, grade-appropriate teaching content across the subjects the eight KLAs cover, which a teacher fits into their own school-based scheme of work. Treat this page as a map of how the system is structured, not as an official curriculum document itself, and always check the current EDB and HKEAA websites directly before relying on any specific date, weighting or subject requirement for a decision that matters.
Frequently asked
Frequently asked questions
Is this page or any linked product an official EDB curriculum document?
No. These are independent teaching resources. They are not an EDB or CDC publication, they are not vetted or endorsed by the HKEAA or any examination authority, and they are not written against a specific Hong Kong syllabus document. This page summarizes the public structure of the system; it is not itself a curriculum guide.
What replaced Liberal Studies?
Citizenship and Social Development, introduced in Secondary 4 from the 2021/22 school year and rolled up through Secondary 6 by 2023/24. The first HKDSE exam in the subject was held in 2024, and results are reported as Attained or Unattained rather than on the standard Level 1 to 5 scale.
What replaced Life and Society?
Citizenship, Economics and Society, a junior secondary subject for S1 to S3. Schools were encouraged to introduce it from September 2023, with full implementation for all Secondary 1 students from September 2024.
Has the HKDSE Chinese Language exam changed recently?
Yes. Paper 4, the speaking component, was removed starting with the 2023 HKDSE sitting. The exam now runs as Paper 1 (Reading), Paper 2 (Writing) and Paper 3 (Listening and Integrated Skills), plus School-based Assessment.
What are the four NSS core subjects?
Chinese Language, English Language, Mathematics, and Citizenship and Social Development. Every senior secondary student studies all four alongside their chosen elective subjects.
How many years of education are free in Hong Kong?
Twelve years, spanning the full six years of primary school and six years of secondary school. Free secondary provision was extended to cover all six secondary years from the 2008/09 school year.
See the Full Hong Kong Resource Hub
Every stage of the 6-3-3-4 structure, mapped to the honest material actually in stock.
Browse the hub →Further reading: What Is the Hong Kong School Curriculum? A Teacher's Map From P1 to S6 and The Eight Key Learning Areas Explained for New Hong Kong Teachers on the Teacher Hub.