Over 151,000 students in Ho Chi Minh City register for the 10th grade entrance exam.

On the morning of May 31st, more than 151,000 students in Ho Chi Minh City arrived at examination centers to complete procedures, listen to regulations being explained, and prepare to take the 10th grade entrance exam.

Báo Tuổi Trẻ•31/05/2026

lớp 10 - Ảnh 1. — Candidates read information and look up their exam room at the Au Lac Secondary School exam center - Photo: DUYEN PHAN

At exactly 9:30 a.m., the signal drum sounded at the examination centers, and candidates hurriedly moved to their examination rooms. This was a session to familiarize themselves with the examination regulations and verify candidates' personal information, in preparation for the official 10th grade entrance exam taking place on June 1st and 2nd.

At the exam center at Au Lac Secondary School in Tan Son Nhat ward, Nguyen Hoang Nam, a student from Ngo Si Lien Secondary School, couldn't hide his nervousness: "Last night I had trouble sleeping because I was worried. This morning, coming to school and seeing the serious atmosphere, my heart started beating faster. But I've studied thoroughly, and I hope to do well on the literature exam tomorrow."

Ms. Bui Thi Minh Tam, Principal of Au Lac Secondary School, said that the exam center has 493 candidates, 21 examination rooms, and no "special" candidates.

At the examination rooms, invigilators distribute examination cards, verify photos, and check the personal information of each candidate. Any errors regarding names, dates of birth, or priority status are recorded by the examination board, and students are promptly guided to correct them on the spot to ensure their rights are protected.

Besides checking information, the exam regulations this year were thoroughly explained by the invigilators, especially the list of items allowed and prohibited in the examination room.

Candidates are reminded to absolutely not bring mobile phones or communication devices into the examination area, to avoid unfortunate situations that may lead to exam disqualification.

lớp 10 - Ảnh 2. — Candidates listen to the explanation of the exam regulations.

Tips for candidates taking the specialized 10th grade entrance exam.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, this year's 10th grade entrance exam has 226 testing centers for regular 10th grade classes and 16 testing centers for specialized 10th grade classes. The testing centers are spread across three areas to provide convenience for candidates.

For entrance exams to specialized 10th-grade classes, candidates may have to travel a bit further due to the scattered distribution of candidates across various junior high schools.

lớp 10 - Ảnh 3. — On the morning of May 31st, the examination board at Au Lac Secondary School (Tan Son Nhat Ward) observed a bustling atmosphere as hundreds of candidates arrived to complete procedures and correct any erroneous information before the official exam day.

Ms. Pham Thi Bong, a parent in Tan Binh ward, shared: "The weather has been unpredictable these past few days, with alternating sunshine and rain. My children taking the entrance exam for specialized high schools usually have to travel further than their peers, so I will rent a guesthouse near the exam site so they can rest at lunchtime. This will save them from having to rush home, which is far, dusty, and might even get wet in the rain, making it very difficult."

The room rental price is only 70,000 VND/hour, so it's not too bad. I plan to take my child to the exam in the morning, then go home to cook lunch, pack it in a lunchbox, and then go pick her up. After her exam in the morning, I'll drive her to the guesthouse, which only takes 5 minutes. After eating, she can take a 45-minute nap before the afternoon exam. During exam days, it's best not to let the children eat at outside restaurants, as the food might not be safe..."

Ms. Bong said she applied this method to her eldest daughter three years ago, and the girl passed the entrance exam to the 10th grade specialized literature class at Le Hong Phong High School for Gifted Students.

The candidates are confident and ready for the first day of the exam.

At the exam center at Hung Vuong High School in Cho Lon ward, candidates said they were ready for the first important exam of their student lives. Candidate Nguyen Thu Thao said: "I registered for the 10th grade specialized English class and have been preparing for this plan for the past two years. Today is my day to rest, I'll go to bed early to save my energy for the next two days of exams."

At the exam site at Tran Van On Secondary School (Tan Dinh ward), students arrived earlier than the scheduled time. Instead of worrying, many candidates came to the exam site early to "get acquainted with the exam environment."

Nguyen An Huong (whose first choice is Nguyen Thi Minh Khai High School) shared: "Yesterday I went to my last English practice session because I wanted a high score. I tried several times and ended up around 8-8.5 points. But I'm not too worried. Today I arrived early to listen to the exam regulations and reminded myself to comply with them."

Meanwhile, after listening to the invigilator explain the exam regulations and the procedures for bringing items into the exam room, including: pens; rulers; pencils; erasers; set squares; graph rulers; drawing tools; handheld calculators without text editing functions or memory cards; periodic tables of chemical elements and solubility tables… the candidates felt confident with the information about the exam regulations.

In Ben Thanh ward, the exam location that attracted the most parents was Nguyen Du Secondary School. On the morning of May 31st, Tuoi Tre Online also observed the atmosphere on the first day of exam registration, with candidates arriving early, appearing confident and quite relaxed.

"I haven't studied for the past three days, so I'm relaxing and preparing myself mentally for tomorrow morning. I have high hopes for Literature because it's my favorite subject," said Lu Thanh An (whose first choice is Le Quy Don High School).

lớp 10 - Ảnh 4. — Minh Thu and Hoang Nhi from Ngo Si Lien Secondary School said they felt quite relaxed before tomorrow's exam - Photo: DUYEN PHAN

lớp 10 - Ảnh 5. — Invigilators explain exam regulations to candidates at the Au Lac Secondary School exam center - Photo: DUYEN PHAN

In the former Ba Ria - Vung Tau area, there are 31 regular examination centers and 2 specialized/integrated examination centers (Nguyen An Ninh Secondary School, Tam Thang Ward and Le Quy Don Specialized High School, Phuoc Thang Ward).

From early morning, parents brought their children to school to wait for the registration process for the 10th grade entrance exam. According to observations, almost all candidates had arrived to complete the registration procedures.

At the exam center at Tran Hung Dao High School (Tan Hai Ward, Ho Chi Minh City), there are 24 exam rooms with a total of 573 candidates. Two candidates arrived late; after checking the regulations, these two students were present at the exam center.

Teacher Thien, who was in charge at the examination site, said that the first year of organizing the 10th grade entrance exam after the merger had some new aspects: the method of collecting exam papers and mobilizing invigilators.

One difference from before is that the exam structure does not include a multiple-choice section, and the English exam does not have a listening comprehension section. In addition, security personnel have been increased to ensure the safety and security of the exam.