The miracle of students from suburban schools at the Provincial Excellent Student Competition

The more I study, the more I love history.

Tran Ngo Ngoc Tram - a 9C student at Hung Loc Secondary School, has a mother who is a Literature teacher and she was once guided to study Literature because Tram has a good understanding of literature. However, at the beginning of 8th grade, Tram decided to choose History because of a rather emotional thought: When the History teacher asked our class which student loved history and wanted to join the team, I raised my hand to volunteer even though at that time I was not the best History student in the class. I only knew that I quite liked learning about historical stories and I thought that if I tried hard, I could do it.

Student Tran Ngo Ngoc Tram and her History teacher. Photo: MH

Although determined to pursue the subjectHistoryBut Tram had an unsuccessful 8th grade year, because despite her efforts, her name was not on the team list.excellent studentsof the city.

In grade 9, Tram spent more time on this subject but the results were not as expected, because at the city's excellent student selection exam, although she won second prize, she only ranked 9th in the whole city.

In the second qualifying round to select the provincial excellent student team, Tram began to improve and ranked 4th.

Class time of students at Hung Loc Secondary School. Photo: MH

With the above results, when selected for the city team to participate in the Provincial Excellent Student Competition, Tram was not the most expected student.

Tram herself also saw her limitations, so right after the results of the second round of the city, Tram began to change her way of studying and doing the test. Talking about this, Tram said: Before, when studying History, I just read a lot and absorbed a lot of knowledge. Later, I studied systematically according to mind maps and tried to connect to expand the problem.

The time to accelerate for the Provincial Excellent Student Competition was also when the Covid-19 epidemic broke out and Tram's teacher could not avoid being infected. During that period, although most of the time the two teachers and students had to study online, many lessons were interrupted, but the difficulties were the motivation for Tram to try.

Sharing about Tram, teacher Cao Thi Kim Thoa - History teacher said: What I appreciate most about Tram is her diligence and special love for History. Therefore, when she first started learning history, her learning method was not effective and her method of doing exercises was still limited, but after being guided by the teacher, Tram improved every day.

Talking about Tram’s efforts, Tram’s mother also said, “close to the exam day, Tram studied day and night and sometimes only slept 2 hours. All the remaining time, Tram devoted to History, even when eating, she held a book in her hand”…

Tram's efforts finally paid off when, from a student with quite modest achievements, Tram broke through and won first prize at the Provincial Excellent Student Competition for Grade 9 and even more surprisingly, she held the position of valedictorian of the whole province. When receiving this result, not only Tram but all the teachers at Hung Loc Secondary School were surprised, because this was the first valedictorian of the school in the past 20 years.

Recalling her exam, Tram said: When I read the questions, I found them not too difficult because they were all within the content I had carefully reviewed. However, maybe because I was a bit nervous, there were some questions that I still missed some small ideas. At first, I felt regretful when I finished, but now I am really comfortable because the results of the exam were beyond my expectations...

Two students won first prize in Chemistry and History at Hung Loc Secondary School. Photo: MH

The valedictorian of the 9th grade History subject also shared that: In the process of pursuing History, because of the amount of knowledge being too much, there were times when I was tired and did not want to try. But it was the teachers and family who encouraged and helped me overcome the initial obstacles. I will continue to stick with History and hope to be admitted to the History specialized class - Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted to be able to realize my dream.

Miracle at suburban school

Hung Loc Secondary School is located on the outskirts of Vinh City and is still a school in a disadvantaged area. Over the years, although the number of students in the general education program is quite large, according to the school's statistics, there are usually 400 students in the general education program list who request to transfer schools or pass the entrance exams to specialized schools in the city. This is also the reason why, compared to many other schools, the quality of students at Hung Loc Secondary School is often lower and for many years, the school has not had any students achieve high scores in the Provincial Excellent Student Competitions.

Hung Loc Secondary School has 21 classes but only 10 classrooms and is the only school in the city where students have to study in two shifts. Due to the lack of facilities, organizing teaching, including training excellent students, is facing many difficulties. In the photo: Student Hong An Hieu and the Chemistry teacher. Photo: MH

This year alone, the quality of the school's excellent students has made remarkable progress because for the first time the school has had 2 First Prizes. In addition to the First Prize, the valedictorian of History, student Hong An Hieu, class 9C, also won First Prize in Chemistry and was in the top 3 candidates with the highest test scores in the province. An Hieu's result was not beyond the school's expectations, because before that, in the city's review team, he was also a candidate with quite stable performance. Receiving this result, Hieu also said: After finishing the test, I reviewed the answers and until now I still don't know which part I was wrong. Perhaps, my biggest mistake was the presentation and I think I was deducted points because I didn't present well.

Hong An Hieu is also a special candidate because before entering the Provincial Excellent Student Competition, what Hieu wanted most was a “difficult exam” so that he could have a chance to break through. This student is also named in the city’s excellent student team in both Chemistry and Mathematics.

It was the teacher's teaching method that encouraged and created interest in learning for Hong An Hieu. Photo: MH

Interestingly, instead of choosing Mathematics - the subject that his mother directly taught, Hieu chose Chemistry to take the exam. This choice also surprised Hieu's Chemistry teacher: Hieu studied all subjects and in grade 9 won second prize in the city's excellent student competition in both Chemistry and Mathematics. I myself was initially worried that Hieu would choose Mathematics because it was natural. But when I saw Hieu choose Chemistry, I was really happy and as a teacher, my duty is to work with my students to not disappoint their trust in me - said teacher Ta Thi Thao.

Previously, Hieu said, when he first approached Chemistry, he was not too excited. But it was teacher Ta Thi Thao who inspired him to love this subject more and more: Every class, the teacher asked a question or posed a problem for the students to answer. If any student answered correctly, they would receive a reward. Because he wanted to receive a gift, every day he tried his best to study well to finish first - Hieu recalled.

In more than 10 years of being a teacher, teacher Ta Thi Thao also said that she was lucky to meet a student like Hieu because he had the qualities of a good student, which were intelligence, diligence and progress. Moreover, during the learning process, Hieu also knew how to listen, and after being reminded by her, Hieu tried to correct his mistakes. That was also the reason why, after Hieu completed the exam at the Provincial Excellent Student Exam, she had great confidence in Hieu's work and counted the days to wait for good news...

Provincial excellent student team of Hung Loc Secondary School. Photo: MH

In addition to his excellent academic achievements in Math and Chemistry, Hong An Hieu is also an all-round excellent student. He has been an excellent student for 8 consecutive years, a class monitor, and for many consecutive years the Team Leader of Hung Loc Primary and Secondary School. He also has a passion for sports, winning second prize in swimming at the City's Phu Dong Sports Festival for the 12-13 age group.

In particular, An Hieu has a passion for scientific and technical research. In 2020, he won the Third Prize in the Provincial Youth Informatics Competition, the Third Prize in the "Youth and Children's Creativity Competition of Nghe An Province", and the Excellent Prize in the 2nd round of Organic Chemistry for Excellent Students of the 9th National Chemistry Olympiad. In 2021, Hieu won the Second Prize in the Science and Technology Competition organized by the Department of Education and Training of Vinh City with the application "Handbook of Math, Physics, Chemistry and Biology Formulas" which has been downloaded more than 10,000 times on CH Play.

The joys from the Provincial Excellent Student Competition also brought a new spirit to Hung Loc Secondary School.

Teacher Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan - Principal of the school also said: For a suburban school like ours, having students participating in the provincial excellent student team is already a success. This year alone, the school has 2 first prizes, 1 second prize, 1 third prize and 1 encouragement prize and this is an unprecedented feat. This result will be a driving force to add confidence to the school and will encourage teachers and students to strive together and hope for new achievements in the future.