The top scorer in this year's Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams said he would like to become a doctor in future, but that he also studied economics out of his own interest.

Henry Wang, from the Hong Kong Chinese Women's Club College in Sai Wan Ho, achieved the top scores in the compulsory subjects of Chinese, English and maths, along with five electives: physics, chemistry, biology, economics and the maths extension part.

He said he likes economics.

"I studied economics out of my own interest... I have the motivation to study it," he spoke to reporters after receiving his results.

"Of course I like physics, chemistry and biology as well because I have the motivation to study them, I willingly devoted more time to them.

"I don't think we should study solely for exams, otherwise it will be very tiring, and the stress will be huge when we make mistakes in the exams," Wang said.

He also said he was very surprised to learn that he did so well overall.

The youngster thanked his family for their support when things got tough.

"As for my greatest supporter, I must say it's my family, just helping me to get everything together properly and comfort me when I'm just stressed out or feeling very bad, and give me a good warm hug when I really need that," he said.

"My sister also prepares some desserts for me when I'm really sad or really stressed."

He said he hopes to study medicine in university and become a doctor to contribute to society, citing a shortage of medical staff in Hong Kong.

Nearly 43,000 secondary school students received their DSE results on Wednesday, with 16 including Wang getting the top score of 5** in at least six subjects.

"DSE is an overall review of our learning experience and how far we've come, and it helps us grasp what we have learnt as well as our performance in exams," Secretary for Education Christine Choi told students at a school in Tai Po.

"It also provides crucial data for us to determine how we should adjust in order to make our next move.

"Do not forget, as I said, this is not the finishing line. We still have to keep running. A long-distance run won't end at a checkpoint - and winning or losing won't be determined at this checkpoint."