Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education
| Summary | The Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education is a three-year senior secondary academic structure which commenced in September 2009. The first candidates sitting the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE) will complete in 2012. Candidates take four core subjects (Chinese Language, English Language, Mathematics and Liberal Studies), plus two or three elective subjects. Given that the Diploma is ungraded, UCAS Tariff points are awarded to each individual component. Whilst there are some vocational electives, only the academic subjects are included within the Tariff. Each component of the overarching Diploma will be graded from 5** to 1, with U being unclassified. For the purposes of this exercise only grades 5**, 5*, 5, 4 and 3 are being considered as appropriate levels of attainment for supporting progression to UK higher education. |
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| Tariff entry | The work to allocate Tariff points for grades 3-5* was originally undertaken in 2009 - download the report (PDF). The work to allocate a value to the 5** grade was undertaken in November 2012. The full report will be uploaded shortly. | |||
| Learning hours | English and Mathematics require 405 hours of lesson time, whilst liberal studies and electives are allocated 270 hours of lesson time. | |||
| UCAS Tariff points | Grade | All subjects except Mathematics | Mathematics compulsory component | Mathematics optional components |
| 5** | 145 | 65 | 80 | |
| 5* | 130 | 60 | 70 | |
| 5 | 120 | 45 | 60 | |
| 4 | 80 | 35 | 50 | |
| 3 | 40 | 25 | 40 | |
| Awarding organisation | Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority | |||
| Further information | http://www.hkeaa.edu.hk/en/hkdse/ | |||