With a score of 49/50, including 9.5 in Literature, 10 in Math (coefficient 2) and English (coefficient 1), Phuong Khai Minh has excellently passed the exam which many parents consider to be more competitive than the university entrance exam.

The feeling of joy and pride for having the valedictorian of the Hanoi non-specialized public 10th grade entrance exam this year is probably not only for Phuong Khai Minh, his family, friends, teachers but also for all teachers and students of Nghia Tan Secondary School. On the morning of July 1, a reporter from the People's Army Newspaper called Principal Nguyen My Hao to find out more about Khai Minh. Before she could say anything, she happily asked: "You want to ask Phuong Khai Minh, right? The school is very happy to have an excellent student like Khai Minh. To understand more about him, you can ask the homeroom teacher, who has always accompanied the students in the past school years."

Student Phuong Khai Minh.

Ms. Bui Thi Nga, the homeroom teacher of class 9A11 and also Khai Minh's Literature teacher, happily recounted that in grade 7, Minh transferred from another school but was an extroverted student, very cheerful, open-minded, the class was united and loved each other, so Minh integrated into the class very quickly. Over the years, he has also asserted himself by always being at the top of the class and winning many scholarships from the president. She was not too surprised when Minh got 2 10s in Math and English. Particularly in Literature, Khai Minh has a very good mindset.

Minh's thinking and test-taking skills determine his high results, not his knowledge. Minh is a good student in Math, the "math tree" of the class and loves solving math problems, so Minh uses math thinking to study literature. Minh's logical and scientific thinking in literature, combined with his clear and coherent presentation, makes him successful in taking exams. Minh's way of studying is skills and methods, studying smartly, not rote learning or memorizing.

“When deciding to register his son at Chu Van An High School, Khai Minh’s father was a bit hesitant because this is a school with very high scores. But I believe Minh can be assured of being admitted to Chu Van An High School. Khai Minh has registered for Chu Van An High School and also for IT, High School for the Gifted in Pedagogy. IT, High School for the Gifted in Pedagogy is Minh’s dream and there is a high possibility that he will study there,” said Ms. Nga.

It is known that Minh's class 9A11 has 48 students and up to now, many of them have achieved high scores with an average of 8.05 in Literature (the highest score in the school); 8.6 in Math and 9.4 in English.

Article and photos: HONG HANH