The secret to becoming valedictorians of 3 boys from Huynh Thuc Khang High School

Three valedictorians of Huynh Thuc Khang High School in the provincial gifted student exam for the 2018-2019 school year. Photo: Chu Thanh

Valedictorian in Physics: “Understanding phenomena and thinking about Physics”

Nguyen Trong Hung - a student at Huynh Thuc Khang High School, valedictorian of the provincial Physics competition (19.38/20 points) said that this year's exam highly classified students based on test-taking skills and problem-solving thinking.

“When I was doing my homework, I reviewed the questions with my teacher and friends. I also estimated my score. However, when my teacher told me that I was the valedictorian of Physics, I was very happy and surprised,” Hung shared.

Nguyen Trong Hung (far left) was the valedictorian of Physics in the Nghe An province gifted student exam. Photo: Chu Thanh

Hung said that the person who inspired his passion for Physics was Professor Tran Duc Thiep - a prestigious scientist in the field of atomic energy applications. Professor Thiep is also Hung's grandmother's younger brother.

This male student said that since he was a child, he was very curious about the phenomena around him and often talked with his uncle to find answers. When he was a little older, Hung would tinker with the machines in the house or apply basic physics principles to play.

“For me, physics is not just a subject but also a key that helps me explain many phenomena and things in life,” Hung said. In high school, his passion for physics helped Hung become one of three members of the school’s physics team.

“Although the exam preparation time was hard, it was also the time when we learned a lot, especially from Mr. Nguyen Van Tho, who directly prepared us. Not only did we practice different types of exercises, he also taught us how to think scientifically when encountering new types of problems, and how to stay calm before exams.”

Regarding the secret to getting high scores, Hung said that students need to understand the phenomenon of thinking about physics. Besides, Hung's motivation also comes from 2 classmates on the team.

“You guys are all good, smart and hard-working. Thanks to you and the teacher, I have the motivation to study for the provincial exam for gifted students,” Hung confided. Sharing about his future dreams, Hung plans to study Physics or study economics.

Chemistry Valedictorian: “Don't set your goals too high, don't put pressure on yourself”

Nguyen Quoc Huy, class 11A5, Huynh Thuc Khang High School is the valedictorian of Chemistry with 19.13/20 points. Photo: Chu Thanh

The valedictorian of the 11th grade Chemistry exam is Nguyen Quoc Huy - class 11A5, Huynh Thuc Khang High School (19.13/20 points). Quoc Huy said he has had a passion for and pursued Chemistry since middle school. However, Huy's path to success in Chemistry was not easy when he failed the provincial exam for gifted students in grade 9.

At the end of that school year, Huy registered for the entrance exam to the specialized Chemistry class at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted and also failed to score enough points. These consecutive failures did not discourage Huy. For him, they were just opportunities to challenge himself, to know his abilities and how much more effort he needed to put in.

Determined to study in group B for university admission, Huy tried hard. Particularly for Chemistry, being trained and coached by teachers gave him more motivation to strive.

“I didn’t set my goals too high, putting pressure on myself, but gradually, step by step. In 10th grade, I set a goal of being selected for the provincial gifted student competition team. When I passed the team with the highest score in the school, I set a higher goal of passing the exam and winning the prize,” Huy said.

With this exam result, Huy not only overcame the previous “failure” but also excelled to become valedictorian. “This is a very surprising result for me. The exam gathered many excellent students, including from specialized schools in the province,” Huy said.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, Huy’s tutor, said that Huy is an intelligent, hard-working student who puts in real effort in his studies. And this is a worthy result for Huy’s passion and determination.

Biology Valedictorian: “The method is unique and has never been used before”

Bach Duy Thai (right) is the valedictorian of the provincial Biology competition with 18.25/20 points. Interestingly, Huynh Thuc Khang High School this year has 2 valedictorians in the same class 11A5. Photo: Chu Thanh

Meanwhile, Bach Duy Thai, the valedictorian of the province's excellent student in Biology (18.25/20 points), is a very witty and intelligent student. The story of Thai's studies is also very interesting. In 8th grade, he was an excellent student in Vinh city in History, at the end of 9th grade he tried to take the exam for the Chemistry major, and when he entered high school, he changed his goal to... Biology.

“With Biology, I don’t have a background like the other students on the team. But this is a subject that makes me passionate and interested, and I have knowledge that can be applied immediately in my real life,” Thai confided.

Talking about his test result in the recent exam, Duy Thai said that he gave himself about 16 points. In addition to “deducting” points for places where Thai thought he could lose points because of inaccurate expression and long-winded solutions, he also deducted points from one difficult question.

According to Thai, this was a question to classify students and he had a “unique and never-before-used way of solving it”. Although he got the correct answer, he did not know whether the judges would accept his “strange” solution or not. As a result, Thai’s answer was awarded 18.25 points and he was one of the few students who solved the difficult question, which was highly appreciated by the judges.