DSE 2026丨The first written exam for Visual Arts in the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) has commenced

The Diploma Examination’s first subject written exam and the Visual Arts subject exam opened today, with nearly 4,000 people applying.

Principal Associate Zhao Zhenxiong, vice principal of Liang Shengde Middle School, which is part of the Bo Ai Hospital’s past directors’ association, said that about 80 candidates went to the school to take the exam. As it is raining today, the school arranged for candidates to enter the campus earlier to wait, and also said that today the candidates used the “Check-in Easy” mobile app, making the process smooth.

This year’s Diploma Examination has more than 58k applicants, about 5% more than last year. Among them, more than 46k are school candidates. The four core subjects—Chinese, English, Mathematics, and Civic Education—will begin being examined in sequence starting on Thursday.

Ng Baocheng, a student guidance adviser at the Students’ Union (Hope Society), said on Now TV’s program “News All-Round”—that before and after the exam began, they received many enquiries from parents, as well as feedback from students that the pressure to take the exam is high. He advised that parents can give their children space to study and provide emotional support.

Lin Yanrong, deputy head of the Department of Guidance and Psychology at Shuren University, suggested that candidates should not study too late the night before, because during sleep the brain’s hippocampus is very active. The hippocampus is responsible for memory, so if they get enough sleep that night, their memory storage will actually be better.