What is special about the school that the Director of Ho Chi Minh City Police attended to open?

As the leading educational institution in Ho Chi Minh City and the whole country, Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted in Ho Chi Minh City has a history of nearly a hundred years and an impressive record of achievements, affectionately called the 'Always Happy' school by generations of students.

On the morning of September 5, Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted (Cho Quan Ward, Ho Chi Minh City) held an opening ceremony and honored outstanding students. Attending the ceremony were Lieutenant General Mai Hoang, member of the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Police; Mr. Phan Thanh Binh, former member of the Party Central Committee, former Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for Culture, Education , Youth and Children; Mr. Pham Quang Tam, Deputy Head of the General Education Department (Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training); leaders of Cho Quan Ward; school representatives and more than 2,100 students.

A special point is that last school year, Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted became the leading unit in the ranking of high schools participating in the national excellent student competition with 109 students receiving awards. Le Phan Duc Man, the only representative of the South participating in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) 2025 and won a silver medal; Nguyen Tan Duc, who won the fourth prize in the International Science and Technology Research Competition (ISEF) 2025, are also students of the school.

In addition, in the 2025 high school graduation exam and university entrance exam, the school had dozens of students admitted directly to many prestigious universities such as Natural Sciences, Polytechnic (Ho Chi Minh City National University), Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, Hanoi University of Education, Military Medical Academy... The school also had many students who scored 28 points or more in the high school graduation exam, including 3 students who scored 29 points or more.

All students with excellent results in the 2025 high school graduation exam and university entrance exam were honored this morning. The ceremony took place without any speeches, focusing all the attention on the generations of students.

Also within the framework of the ceremony, Lieutenant General Mai Hoang, on behalf of the leaders of Ho Chi Minh City, presented the scholarship fund to the school. The scholarship fund of Mr. Bui Trong Chuong and the alumni of the 1992-1995 school year also awarded hundreds of millions of VND to many talented students of the school. On this occasion, the school also launched a campaign to support people affected by storms No. 4 and No. 5 and the scholarship fund.

Lieutenant General Mai Hoang, member of the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department, and Ms. Pham Thi Be Hien, Principal of Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted, awarded students who were directly admitted to top universities nationwide.

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Professor and Doctor Luong Van Hy, a former student and head of the Executive Board of the Bui Trong Chuong Scholarship Fund, awarded scholarships to each excellent student with difficult circumstances. The Bui Trong Chuong Scholarship Fund was established in 2013 by two former students of the teacher, Mr. Lam Vinh The and Mr. Luong Van Hy, to commemorate the teacher who spent his entire life teaching at Petrus Ky School, now Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted.

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After the scholarship awarding ceremony, thousands of students and delegates watched the program celebrating the 80th anniversary of the education sector's tradition and the opening of the 2025-2026 school year organized by the Ministry of Education and Training at the National Convention Center (Hanoi). This is also the first time that all educational institutions nationwide saluted the flag, sang the National Anthem at the same time during the opening ceremony of the new school year and listened to the General Secretary's speech.

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Within the framework of the ceremony, the school also launched a campaign to support people affected by recent storms and floods, as well as support the school's scholarship fund.

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Students of the Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted's art troupe, wearing ao dai decorated with the school's badge, sang the songs: Ly ngua o (Southern folk song), Ngua o thuong nho (composer Tran Tien), Dat nuoc loi ru (composer Van Thanh Nho), Nhung sao nho (composer Nguyen Van Hien) and Sai Gon thanh xuan (composer Kai Dinh). This performance helped the school's art troupe win third prize at the 2025 Chu ve con song group festival.

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Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted, with its classic French architecture, is one of the five oldest high schools in Ho Chi Minh City and will celebrate its 100th anniversary in two years (2027).

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Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted was built in 1927 under the name of Collège Petrus Ky, or Petrus Truong Vinh Ky High School. In 1928, the school opened its first school year with 200 students. At first, the principal was French, but from 1947 onwards, the principal was Vietnamese.

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The statue of scholar Truong Vinh Ky is located in the school's tradition room. Scholar Truong Vinh Ky was fluent in 26 languages, honored as one of the 18 wise men of the world in the 19th century; at the same time, he was also the founder of the first newspaper in Quoc Ngu, Gia Dinh Bao, in 1865. In Cho Quan Ward, where Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted is located, there is also his ancient tomb.

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From this school, many generations of young Vietnamese students continuously initiated the patriotic movement, fighting against French colonialism and then against the US in many forms such as school strikes, demonstrations. Notably, on January 9, 1950, student Tran Van On heroically fell during the anti-French street protests, sparking a wave of protests throughout Saigon-Cho Lon. January 9 was later chosen as the National Student Tradition Day.

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During the resistance war against the US, the Party and Youth Union organizations were continuously established at the school, leading the student movements in the wave of student struggles in Saigon. After the country's reunification, the school was chosen as a military base. From this place, the first decrees from the Ho Chi Minh City Military Management Board were issued. In the 1976-1977 school year, the school was officially named after the late General Secretary Le Hong Phong.

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Up to now, Petrus Ky - Le Hong Phong school has always been the cradle of many famous talents such as Professor Tran Dai Nghia, Professor Nguyen Van Chi, Architect Huynh Tan Phat, Doctor Nguyen Tan Gi Trong, former President Truong Tan Sang, former President Nguyen Minh Triet... Other famous entertainment faces such as singer Cam Ly, singer Ha Anh Tuan, musician Nguyen Van Chung are also former students of the school.

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Another special feature is that the school has a Western architectural style combined with Asian culture, creating an Indochinese architectural style. The architectural space of the school is also a typical example of Vietnamese cultural exchange and Art Deco style, experimenting with adapting new techniques to local climate conditions. The classrooms have an airy corridor in front leading, creating ventilation, welcoming and making the most of sunlight.

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Behind the classically designed teaching building are modern high-rise buildings, clearly showing the breath of the past and present that always exists in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City.

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The stairs are stained with the color of time and are also the place where countless footprints of generations of talented and patriotic students of Petrus Ky - Le Hong Phong are imprinted. The school is also the birthplace of the annual traditional Olympic competition 30.4, for specialized students of the southern provinces.

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Library area

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The medical room is located on the ground floor.

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Another building at Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted

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Below the building is a parking lot for teachers and students with a capacity of hundreds of vehicles, equipped with elevators and stairs for movement.

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Hall area for indoor activities

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Canteen with a variety of food and drinks

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After nearly a century, teachers and students of Le Hong Phong High School for the Gifted were honored to receive the Third Class Labor Medal (1989), Second Class Labor Medal (2001), First Class Labor Medal (2007), Third Class Independence Medal (2021)... from the President.

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Green patches, sometimes dotted with flowers, can be easily found anywhere on the campus of this nearly 100-year-old school.

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Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ngoi-truong-giam-doc-cong-an-tphcm-du-khai-giang-co-gi-dac-biet-185250905174923088.htm