Declining School-Age Population... 4,000 Fewer Freshmen in Seoul General High Schools

Due to the impact of low birth rates leading to a decrease in the school-age population, the number of new students entering general high schools in the Seoul area this year has decreased by nearly 4,000 compared to last year. This marks the second consecutive year of decline following last year.

On the 31st, the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education announced that it will release the '2025 Academic Year Superintendent-Selected Late High School New Student Assignment Results' including this information at 10 a.m.

High school admissions are conducted in two phases: early and late. Specialized high schools such as Gifted High Schools, Science High Schools, and Meister High Schools are classified as early admissions, while general high schools, autonomous private high schools, international high schools, and foreign language high schools fall under late admissions.

This year, the number of students expected to enter late high schools in the Seoul area is 45,846 across 210 schools. Male students number 23,039, and female students number 22,807. This figure excludes a total of 7,640 students, including 7,328 students who were admitted to multiple schools among international high schools, foreign language high schools, and autonomous private high schools, 166 students admitted to arts and physical education specialized classes, 20 students admitted to early admission schools, and 126 others. Among the assigned students, the general category accounted for 44,986 (43,938 in general classes and 1,048 in specialized classes). There were 645 students with special athletic talents, 7 within-quota special cases, and 208 out-of-quota students.

As the school-age population decreases due to low birth rates, the number of assigned students has declined for two consecutive years. Last year, the number of assigned students dropped by 3,935 from 53,761 to 49,826, and this year saw a similar decrease of 3,980 students.

The number of new student classes decreased by 97 compared to last year. The average number of students per class dropped from 26.5 last year to 25.8, a decrease of 0.7 students.

The Office of Education explained, "Through balanced student allocation between regions and schools, we have lowered the average number of students per class each year and have worked to improve educational conditions by reducing the number of schools with overcrowded classes of 28 or more students annually."

Late high school assignments are conducted through a three-stage computerized lottery and allocation process, considering school placement conditions and maintaining appropriate student numbers. In the first stage, 20% of each school's recruitment quota across Seoul is allocated by computerized lottery. In the second stage, 40% of each school's recruitment quota within the general school group at the education support office level is allocated by computerized lottery. In the third stage, unassigned students from the first and second stages are allocated by computerized lottery within the integrated school group range.

The results of the late high school assignments are notified to students and parents via mobile phone messages. New students must receive their assignment notice from their middle school or the relevant education support office and register at the assigned high school on the 3rd or 4th of next month.

Jung Geun-sik, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, stated, "We plan to uphold the principle of balanced allocation to respect students' and parents' school choice rights while harmonizing the reduction of student number disparities between regions and schools."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.