The road to the Silver Medal in International Chemistry of a student from Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted

Among them, Mai Van Duc - a student of class 12A4, Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, contributed to the achievement of the Vietnamese team with a Silver Medal.

The flight took off from Switzerland and arrived at Noi Bai Airport (Hanoi) at 2:00 p.m. on July 26, bringing with it the joy of the entire group of excellent Vietnamese Chemistry students. Upon arriving at Noi Bai Airport, the Ministry of Education and Training organized a meeting to welcome, congratulate, and give flowers to the students.

For Mai Van Duc - student of class 12A4,Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, joy mixed with emotion when being welcomed at the airport by the school's Board of Directors, teachers, family and friends. Amidst the sea of ​​flowers and congratulatory arms, Duc could not speak. The care of family, school, teachers and friends during the 3 years of studying at the school has given him the strength and confidence to achieve today's victory.

Born into a family with both parents working as teachers, the family has 2 brothers in Bac Loi village, An Hoa commune, Quynh Luu district. Right from primary school, Duc was always a top student at An Hoa Primary School. After being admitted to Ho Xuan Huong Secondary School, Duc passed the qualifying round of the contest to find young Math talent and was honored to go to Hanoi to compete during 2 years of 6th and 7th grade. In 8th grade, Duc was selected to join the school's Chemistry team and won first prize in Chemistry at the district-level competition for excellent students in 9th grade.

In the entrance exam for grade 10 specialized in Chemistry at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, Duc passed with a high score and ranked 14th in the school's entrance exam. As soon as he was in grade 10, Duc participated in the school's specialized Chemistry competition and became the valedictorian. In grade 11, he won first prize in Chemistry in the 2022 national excellent student exam, and was awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Ministry of Education and Training and the Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghe An province (Duc is the first student from Nghe An to win first prize in Chemistry at the national level up to now). In grade 12, Duc continued to win first prize in the national excellent student in Chemistry and passed the second round to be included in the list of students participating in the International Chemistry Olympiad.

Talking about the process of studying and practicing in the Chemistry team at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, Duc always emphasized the attention of the school and teachers, especially Ms. Tran Thi Quynh Anh (homeroom teacher) and Mr. Phung Ngoc Thanh, who directly taught him since he was in grade 10 as well as trained him when he was in the team. During the practice sessions, Duc was instilled with a passion for the subject by the teachers.

Commenting on her student Van Duc, Ms. Tran Thi Quynh Anh - Homeroom teacher of class 12A4, Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted said: "Duc is a friendly student, very easy to confide in, he is diligent in his studies but not a "bookworm", he knows how to arrange his time, balance between studying and playing, he is a member of the school's Basketball Club and actively participates in cultural activities with the class. Although he has to focus on studying his specialized subject, he still studies well in other subjects...".

With the guidance and training of a team of excellent teachers from high schools and universities, Duc and his team entered the International Chemistry Olympiad with the most confidence. However, the Silver Medal result for Duc was still a bit regretful because in the experimental part, there were some tools that he saw for the first time, so he was a bit confused.

As an excellent student for many years, when asked about his secret to studying, Mai Van Duc modestly said: To achieve high results in Chemistry in particular and in studying in general, it is simply self-study and constant effort. When studying in class, you need to concentrate on listening to the teacher's lectures, find many ways to solve "tricky" exercises, and also need to find documents online to serve your study and research. And the most important thing is to have passion. Besides, when encountering difficult exercises, Duc also often exchanges and asks teachers for guidance on the best way to solve the exercises.

Talking about his future plans, Duc said: "I have not decided which school to study, but the next path I choose will continue with the subject of Chemistry research. If I have the opportunity to receive a scholarship, I also want to study abroad to develop myself." Mai Van Duc shared./.