I was valedictorian, my sister was in the top 10 of the 10th grade entrance exam.

Journey... over the mountains.

Huynh Bao Thai was a 9th grade student at Ha Huy Tap Secondary School. However, before that, Thai lived in Con Cuong district for many years. It was not until the end of 6th grade, when his father changed jobs, that Thai's family moved to Vinh City.

Two sisters Huynh Bao Thai - Huynh Bao Uyen. Photo: NVCC

At that time, this was not an easy decision because Thai was a student at Tra Lan Secondary School - a specialized school of the district. Meanwhile, going to Vinh, everything had to be started from scratch. Thai's mother, Ms. Trinh Thi Luong (teacher at Bong Khe Primary School - Con Cuong) also said: During her time studying in the district, Thai had quite good results. However, when she first went to Vinh, she was quite self-conscious and shy about her voice.

That confusion did not last long because by the time he entered 7th grade, Thai had begun to assert himself. What was special was that Thai's breakthrough was not only in a few subjects, but Thai studied all subjects equally. By the end of 9th grade, Thai's final score for the second semester was 9.1. With this result, Thai was quite confident when he registered for Huynh Thuc Khang High School.

After finishing the three exams, Thai was also optimistic about her results because she did quite well. However, when she heard that she was valedictorian, she was really shocked: "After reading the newspaper, I found out that I was leading the entrance exam to grade 10. At that time, I was so happy that I kept asking my mother, is it true?"

In class 9A, Ha Huy Tap Secondary School, there are three students in the top 10 of the 10th grade entrance exam. Many students passed the entrance exam to specialized schools and 100% passed the entrance exam to public schools. Photo: NVCC

While Thai was still surprised by the results, teacher Mai Thi Ha - Thai's homeroom teacher - was not too surprised, because according to her: Thai is a very hard-working student, studying all subjects equally. Before that, in the mock exams, Thai's Math and Literature scores were mainly 9, 10; "it only took her 30 minutes to finish the test".

Talking about his exam with a score of 10 in Math, a score of 9 in Literature and a score of 9.6 in Combination in the 10th grade entrance exam, Thai also said: I did the Math test quite quickly and had a lot of time to review the test. As for the Literature test and Combination test, I was a bit worried because they are not my strengths.

What's special is that despite getting a near-perfect score in the combination subject, Thai didn't take any extra classes and has only been reviewing for the past few months.

Thai's secret is to read the textbook carefully and do lots of exercises.

The miracle of twin sisters

Another special thing about Thai in this year's 10th grade entrance exam is that Thai and his twin sister Huynh Bao Uyen are both in the top 10 of the province. In Math, both sisters are equal and both excellently achieved a perfect score of 10.

Looking back at 9 years of high school, twin sisters Huynh Bao Uyen and Huynh Bao Thai also had many outstanding achievements such as winning prizes at the District and Provincial Mathematics Competition for Children, and being excellent students for many consecutive years. In junior high school, although they were in the same class, the two sisters did not "give in" to each other, even jokingly calling each other "rivals" and seeing that as motivation to try.

Twin sisters Uyen and Thai are also friends. Photo: My Ha.

As the mother of twin daughters, Ms. Trinh Thi Luong also used to have a headache because her two girls were noisy all day. In return, when they focused on studying, she never had to remind them: The two grew up together, studied together since childhood, but when they started school, they were very independent and did not sit in the same room.

On the eve of the exam, to make up their minds, they both stuck notes on their foreheads and posted them all over the room: “Must pass the 10th grade exam, must pass the 10th grade exam.” Looking at them, I felt sorry for them, but I could only advise them not to put too much pressure on themselves. However, no matter what their mother advised them, every day they both sneaked out of their parents’ way to study until 1 or 2 in the morning.

Uyen and Thai's family on their sister's graduation day. Photo: NVCC.

Thai and Uyen’s self-reliance also comes from their circumstances. Although they have moved to Vinh, their mother is still working in Con Cuong. Meanwhile, because of his busy work at the hospital, their father is rarely at home.

Not having the opportunity to stay with their parents regularly, Uyen, Thai and their older sister (a student at Vinh University) have to take care of their own lives. After school, the two sisters' greatest joy is watching cartoons and reading stories.

With this first achievement, Uyen and Thai also hope that it will be a premise for them to go further in the future. The two girls also said that their biggest dream is to become a doctor, so they are having to work hard and strive a lot.

Knowing how to dream, knowing how to aspire, knowing how to hope and always being determined is also the secret to Thai and Uyen's high achievements in the 10th grade entrance exam.