Untold stories about the Phan school boy who won the Gold Medal at the International Math Olympiad

Boys of "special" things

3 years ago, Vo Trong Khai was the name that caused a stir in the 10th grade admission season.Phan Boi Chau High School for the Giftedwhen I got a perfect score of 20/20 in the Math class, a result that seemed "unprecedented" in this school.

With his special achievements, while most students have to wait until the beginning of grade 11 to participate in the national team selection for their school, Khai was called to the team from the beginning of grade 10.

Two months after the new school year began, with the highest exam score, Khai was selected to be on the official team to participate in the National Excellent Student Exam with many 11th and 12th graders.

Recalling that memory, teacher Phan Van Thai - Khai's homeroom teacher said: This was a special case, so when deciding to select Khai for the national team, the school had to ask for the Department's opinion (previously, there were only students in grades 11 and 12). Although Khai was the youngest member of the team, he always showed himself to be an outstanding student. In the first national competition season, he brought home the second prize in Mathematics for the school...

Vo Trong Khai grew up in Xuan Hoi commune, former Nghi Xuan district (now Dan Hai commune), Ha Tinh province. Since his elementary and middle school days in his home district, he had outstanding academic achievements, winning medals many times at several international mathematics competitions.

In grade 9, Khai and his close classmate Tran Minh Hoang both won first prize and were valedictorians in Mathematics at the Provincial Excellent Student Competition. In grade 10, while Hoang chose Ha Tinh Specialized High School, Khai only registered for one school, Phan Boi Chau Specialized High School.

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Since I was in middle school, I accidentally read an article about Nguyen Canh Hoang, a student of Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted who won a Gold Medal at the International Mathematical Olympiad. I was impressed and always wanted to study at the school. That was also my biggest goal in 3 years of high school.

Student of Vo Trong Khai

Although he won second prize in the national excellent student competition in grades 10 and 11, Khai failed both times in the selection of the national team to participate in the International Olympic Competitions. As a student who always yearns for victory, Khai admitted that he was very disappointed...

To overcome this shock, Khai returned home to his parents to find support. During that time, teachers Phan Van Thai and Vo Trong Dat (co-head of the team) also regularly encouraged and motivated him. Many times, teacher Dat came to Khai's house to talk to him.

When he calmed down, Khai also analyzed his own limitations, proactively adjusted his learning methods, especially focusing more on geometry... In grade 12, the third time participating in the National Excellent Student Exam, Khai approached the exam with a relaxed mindset, confident in himself, confident in the knowledge he had acquired.

“Third time’s the charm”, Khai also surpassed his own limits when he ranked 2nd in the country, winning the first prize for national excellent students. For the third time participating in the national team selection, surpassing 46 other students competing, Khai also won an official spot to participate in the International Mathematical Olympiad in Australia.

Journey to the world top 10

Accompanying Khai on his first trip abroad to the International Olympic Competition were teacher Phan Van Thai and old classmate Tran Minh Hoang from Ha Tinh High School for the Gifted.

Over the past 3 years, although they did not study together, Khai has witnessed his friend's success in national competitions and international Olympic competitions (Hoang won a Silver Medal in 11th grade).

Talking about his friend, Khai shared: Hoang finished earlier than me, but I never considered it a pressure, nor did I ever compare myself to anyone else. I think each person is an individual with their own strengths and needs to believe in themselves.

This year's Mathematical Olympiad brought together more than 600 students from 113 countries and territories around the world. In preparation for this year's competition, in addition to studying at school, Khai and the team members mostly focused on studying in Hanoi and studied with many leading teachers in Vietnam.

During his time away from home, Khai was occasionally visited and encouraged by his parents and teachers. The leaders of the Department of Education and Training and the school board also regularly visited him and were promptly present in Hanoi on the day of the Vietnamese team's debut.

Coming to Australia, Khai said that this was his first time abroad. However, in grade 9, he achieved IELTS 7.5 so he did not encounter too many difficulties in communication and adapted quickly to the situation.

In this exam, with 2 different rounds, candidates will do 6 math problems (3 problems per session, lasting more than 4.5 hours) including 2 arithmetic problems, 2 combinatorial problems, 1 geometry problem and 1 algebra problem (with combinatorial statements and combinatorial thinking requirements).

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The first day of the exam, I was quite nervous. After reading the questions, it took me nearly 5 minutes to calm down. The characteristic of this exam is that the questions are completely new and candidates must use their knowledge, thinking and creativity to find solutions to the problems.

In the first session, I found the test not too difficult and I completed my test quite confidently, because usually the tests I completed completely were rarely deducted points. Later, I was given 21/21 points for this test.

Student of Vo Trong Khai

On the second exam, according to the usual "the exam will get harder" but Khai said he was more confident. In more than 4 hours of taking the exam, Khai spent half of the time completing the first 2 tests. The third test was a combination test, Khai spent quite a lot of time because it required thinking, flexibility and skillful application of knowledge. He did the right thing but could not complete the exam completely. Therefore, on the second exam day, he only got 17/21 points.

With a total score of 38 points, Khai became the highest scoring contestant of the Vietnamese delegation and ranked 8th overall in this year's exam. Right after the results were announced, Khai called his parents and tried to keep his emotions in check, although he was "so happy he couldn't speak".

At the award ceremony, standing on the podium holding the Gold Medal and the red flag with a yellow star of the country, Khai was “teary-eyed, about to cry” because of pride and emotion: I feel so happy to bring glory to the Fatherland, to the school and to my family. I myself am also satisfied because I have overcome my own difficulties and won.

With this achievement, Khai also brought home the second Gold Medal for Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted. During his journey, Khai always thanked his parents, who “although they did not have a proper education and only worked as freelancers”, but it was the fun math problems that his father often asked him when he was in kindergarten that ignited his love for Mathematics. His father and mother were also the ones who tirelessly drove him back and forth every day for nearly 3 years, a distance of nearly 30 km…

Khai's success also has the shadow of his teachers, who taught him at Nguyen Trai Secondary School (old Nghi Xuan district).

The biggest impressions are teachers like Mr. Thai, Mr. Dat at Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, and teachers who have trained the national team. In addition, on the journey I have taken, there has always been the attention of the home provinces, teachers in the school board, and the excellent student training team...

These feelings, favors, and concerns are also the luggage that accompanies Khai on his new journey when he comes to Hanoi University of Science and Technology and continues to pursue his dream of majoring in Computer Science. This is also the subject in which he achieved many achievements in middle school. Khai believes that if he chooses the right path and tries his best, success will still be waiting ahead.