Education Secretary Christine Choi on Wednesday said the new citizenship and social development (C&S) subject that replaced liberal studies in this year's Diploma of Secondary Education exams didn't make it any easier for students to achieve better scores overall.

Some 94 percent of all candidates passed the new subject, which has either a pass or fail result.

“For the C&S subject, I think we have a standard criteria and reference for assessment. So the result doesn't mean it's easier than before and it is not comparable because it is a newly adapted curriculum,” she told reporters after giving a speech to students at a school in Fo Tan.

“So I think we appreciate very much the effort from teachers and also from the students that they achieved their good scores.”

She also said she is pleased to see that students’ performance across all core and elective subjects improved overall, compared to last year.

About 17,600, or 43 percent of daytime secondary school pupils got the grades needed for a publicly-funded university place.

One of them, Ariel Lau, from Jockey Club Ti-I College, said she wants to study English at either Chinese University or City University.

“It was out of my expectations to pass all my core subjects. I had so much anxiety. I couldn't sleep last night and it was very troubling for me. I'm very conflicted right now on what to choose because before I thought I might have to take the associate degree. But now that I've got 5** in English, I think I might have the upper hand in choosing between the two programmes,” she said.

Some students with physical disabilities also accomplished great results. One pupil with cerebral palsy at Hong Kong Red Cross Princess Alexandra School got a 5** in business, accounting and financial studies. He said his biggest obstacle to studying was not being able to move around easily.

“I can't sit for a long period of time, or else my legs will feel tense. My writing speed is also a bit slower than a normal person. I need to stretch and relax my muscles frequently during my studies," he said.

Meanwhile, 10 students from eight schools achieved top marks across six subjects, up from four last year.

Two of the top scorers came from La Salle College. One said he is going to Imperial College London to study economics, finance and data science, while another said he plans to stay in Hong Kong and study at Chinese University's medical school.

"I believe it's because a family member of mine became sick when I was young. I think a doctor doesn't just provide good treatment for patients but also provides mental support. Now that I have this chance, I would also like to provide mental support for my future patients," he said.

Two of the top scorers came from St. Paul's Co-educational College. One plans to study medicine in the SAR and the other economics in the UK.

“It means a lot to me because I grew up in a grassroot family. I know the struggles, I know what it feels like to struggle about your daily necessities… and by studying economics, I learn about government policies, social welfare and I can utilise my knowledge to say, not necessarily assisting the government, but maybe reflecting the needs of minorities to the government,” the second student said.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong Chinese Women's Club College produced a top scorer for the first time ever.

"I am very excited! Looking at the past records, more top scorers came from elite schools. I never expected myself to be one of them. I am really thankful to every teacher in the school. I hope I can encourage other students to fight hard for their dreams," the student said.

Other top students came from St. Joseph's College, King's College, Ying Wa Girls' School, Diocesan Boys' School and Pui Ching Middle School.

In total, around 49,000 students received their DSE results on Wednesday.