Quang Tri Town High School combines educational experience from the North and South

Quang Tri Town High School - Photo: TL

Story from Nguyen Hoang School

The predecessor of Quang Tri Town High School was Trieu Phong High School, established by the Quang Tri Provincial Revolutionary People's Committee on August 16, 1975. The school was located in the Beng area (Trieu Thanh, Trieu Phong). In the first school year, the school had 3 classes, 115 students, including many former students of Nguyen Hoang High School before 1975 (Nguyen Hoang School).

The initial teaching staff consisted of Mr. Lam Thi (in charge of the school) and 7 teachers: Tran Khanh Thuc (Literature), Hoang Quoc Hoi (Math), Le Quang Nam (Biology), Le Bieu (Math), Hoang Van Thu (Chemistry), Nguyen Quang Kha (Physics) and Nguyen Duc Khoi (Geography). In the 1979-1980 school year, the school was renamed “High School No. 1 Trieu Hai” and moved to a 2-storey school, built on the campus of the old Nguyen Hoang School. In 1989, the school was named Quang Tri Town High School until now.

Going back in history, teachers who used to teach at Nguyen Hoang School said that the Nguyen Hoang School campus was part of the present-day Quang Tri Town High School and shared the same flag-raising yard. Nguyen Hoang School has gone through many ups and downs. Its predecessor was a private high school, established in 1951 on the southern bank of the Thach Han River.

In 1952, the school was publicized under the name “Quang Tri Public High School”. In 1954, the school was officially named Nguyen Hoang High School - the first Lord Nguyen took Quang Tri land to start the great expansion, establishing a large area in Dang Trong. In 1957, the school was moved to a new spacious facility on Duy Tan Street, which is the location of Quang Tri Town High School today.

Nguyen Hoang is the largest high school in the province, the pride of the people of Quang Tri. From now on, Quang Tri children who finish primary school do not have to pack up and go to Hue to study high school. Nguyen Hoang School has continuously developed in scale and quality. In the 1970-1971 school year, the school's scale reached 60 classes, with more than 3,000 students, including students from Mai Linh High School for Girls, managed and taught by Nguyen Hoang School.

In March 1972, during the attack and uprising of the army and people of Quang Tri, Nguyen Hoang School was temporarily closed, and people evacuated to the North and South. In 1973, the war temporarily subsided, and people of Quang Tri returned to Hai Lang to live. Nguyen Hoang School was built in Dien Sanh, Hai Lang and opened for the 1974-1975 school year. In 1975, when Hai Lang was liberated, the school was handed over to the Quang Tri Department of Education.

Former Nguyen Hoang students studied and lived everywhere and became doctors, engineers, teachers, soldiers, scientists, artists, and workers. Among them are some typical ones such as Prof. Dr. Van Tan, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hai Thuy, Associate Prof. Dr. Le Chi Dung - leading experts in Vietnamese Medicine; Major General Truong Huu Quoc; Mr. Le Huu Thang, former Vice Chairman of Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee; Associate Prof. Dr. Ngo Huong, Associate Prof. Dr. Do Bang, Philosopher Nguyen Huu Liem, Associate Prof. Dr. Tran Van Lang, Dr. Truong Van Phuoc, Director Le Cung Bac, writers Ngu Ngu, Nguyen Duc Tung, Vo Que...

A particularly strange coincidence is that Nguyen Hoang School and Quang Tri Town High School, started in different locations, but eventually converged on the same piece of land, at the foot of the Ancient Citadel.

From this sacred land, the two schools have sown seeds and nurtured learning and grown to become high-quality high schools in Quang Tri province, sharing the same mission, which is to educate generations of Quang Tri children to become useful people for themselves, their families and society.

Dedicated teachers

From the first teachers, the school has been supplemented with many teachers, who are children of Quang Tri returning from the North and the South. They are teachers Nguyen Phuc Liem, Hoang Minh Long (Principal), Cao Xuan Thi, Pham Thi Huong Xuan, Thai Thi Sao Mai, Nguyen Thi Ty... along with teachers, former professors of Nguyen Hoang school, they are teachers Do Tu Nhon, Ho Thi Tu, Nguyen Van Quang, Hoang Mai, Tran Van Sung, Nguyen Van Giup and Le Thanh Tri.

Teachers from the North returned with socialist education experience, with the principles: learning goes hand in hand with practice, theory is linked to reality, school is linked to family and society, labor contributes to student education. Teachers of Nguyen Hoang School brought to the school humanistic education experience, in-depth learning, creating a foundation, focusing on developing individual capacity. During the period 1975-1980, the school taught according to the 12-year general education program of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of South Vietnam, higher than the 10-year program in the North. Teachers of Nguyen Hoang School promoted their 12-year teaching experience and worked with the professional team to research the program and textbooks to teach students.

The school's teaching staff is always dedicated to students and their homeland. Four teachers have been awarded the title of Excellent Teacher by the State, namely Mr. Hoang Minh Long, Mr. Le Bieu, Ms. Pham Thi Huong Xuan and Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung. Currently, the total number of staff, teachers and employees is 81 people, 100% of teachers are qualified and above standard, including 18 masters, 62 university and 1 college, creating a united and close-knit group, contributing to the quality of education.

Proud of 50 years of achievements

It can be affirmed that, thanks to good management, high sense of responsibility of cadres, teachers and employees; thanks to the application of educational experience of the North and South, together with the efforts of students to self-study and improve, a "harmonious symphony of teaching and learning" has been created.

Since then, the school has been woven into a glorious record of achievements: the training quality is always maintained, the graduation rate is from 99% to 100%; ranked by the Ministry of Education and Training in the top 100-200 high-quality high schools nationwide; the university and college entrance rate is high, reaching 80-90% in recent years; always at the top of provincial-level excellent student competitions (only after Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted); although it is a non-specialized school, it has many students winning national and international prizes and 3 times brought the Road to Olympia television bridge to Quang Tri. This is a strength, a unique feature, when the school focuses on maximizing the ability of each student.

From 1975 to present, the school has had over 2,380 students winning provincial-level excellent student awards, with 1,535 awards in the 2010-2025 period alone. Regarding national excellent students, the school won over 124 awards, including 2 Gold Medals in Sports, and 79 awards in the 2010-2025 period. Notably, the school's students won 1 Third Prize at the International Science and Technology Competition in the United States in 2017 and 1 Bronze Medal in Asia-Pacific Informatics in 2023.

The school always focuses on comprehensive development, self-study, self-research, pursuing students' passions, nurturing and encouraging them to participate in the Road to Olympia competition. As a result of this intellectual playground, there were 3 students who won prizes, including Van Viet Duc, Champion of the Road to Olympia in 2015; Le Thanh Tan Nhat, Runner-up in 2018 and Van Ngoc Tuan Kiet, Third Prize in 2020.

In 50 years, the school has had over 25,000 students complete the program and graduate. Many students have been successful in various fields, such as: Professor, Dr. Tran Thi Ly, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Giang Thach, Major General - Dr. Nguyen Van Ky, Colonel - Dr. Tran Vinh Quang; Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Duan, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Duy Hung, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Huy, Dr. Pham The Kien, poet Vo Van Luyen, journalist Nguyen Hoan and many young businessmen and scientists at home and abroad.

With these achievements, the school has been awarded many noble prizes by the State and all levels. The President awarded the Third Class Labor Medal in 1999, Second Class in 2005 and First Class in 2010; In 2024, the school was honored to receive the Third Class Independence Medal.

Journey to the future

Over the past fifty years, Quang Tri Town High School has grown steadily in all aspects, now with 33 classes and 1,300 students. With its contributions to training human resources and nurturing talents for the homeland, the school has built an increasingly high reputation, worthy of the trust of the Party, government and people.

Visiting the school in the early days of 2025, towards the 50th anniversary of the school's founding, we saw a new determination, a new belief shining through the eyes, smiles and steps of teachers and students, which is the pride of the heroic tradition of the homeland.

It is also the responsibility “to those who sacrificed for their homeland”, to respect and promote the educational tradition of the school and the homeland. This is the foundation and motivation for the school to reach new heights in comprehensive educational quality according to qualities, abilities and personalized education; contributing to training high-quality human resources and nurturing talents for the homeland and the country.

Ho Sy Anh - Vo Thi Quynh

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/truong-thpt-thi-xa-quang-tri-ket-hop-kinh-nghiem-giao-duc-2-mien-bac-nam-192835.htm