On the afternoon of June 1st, after a heavy rain, Mr. Le Trung Dung patiently waited for his child in front of the exam center gate at Nguyen Du Secondary School (Ben Thanh Ward).
His son, Le Trung Nam Hai, is a student at Le Hong Phong Secondary School (Con Dao Special Zone). Since May 29th, the father and son have "crossed the sea" to the mainland and rented a room to stay in throughout the exam period.
In the Con Dao Special Zone and Thanh An island commune, junior high school graduates are admitted to grade 10 through a selection process, without having to take an entrance exam. However, Nam Hai still decided to register for the entrance exam at public high schools in Ho Chi Minh City to have more opportunities to choose a suitable learning environment.
I applied to three schools: Nguyen Thuong Hien High School, Tran Phu High School, and Marie Curie High School. Throughout my four years of junior high school, I consistently achieved the title of outstanding student. Besides classroom learning, Nam Hai primarily studied independently under the guidance of his teachers.
On the morning of June 1st, Nam Hai completed his first exam with a fairly relaxed mood. He confidently entered the second exam, as this was the subject in which he had achieved the best results.
Putting his faith in his son, Mr. Dung shared that if Nam Hai is lucky enough to be accepted, he will live with his older brother, who is currently a second-year student at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Trade, while his parents will continue to live and work in Con Dao.
Sharing the same dream from a distant island is Ngo Vo Tuong Vy, Nam Hai's classmate. Present at the exam site at Vo Truong Toan Secondary School (Saigon Ward), Tuong Vy said that she and her mother had come to the mainland 5 days ago to settle into their accommodation and prepare mentally for the exam.
From the beginning of 9th grade, her family had planned for her to study on the mainland. The female student applied to the following schools: Tay Thanh High School, Nguyen Thai Binh High School, and Nguyen Thi Dieu High School. If accepted, she would live with her aunt to make studying easier.
Tuong Vy aims to score around 7 points in each subject. However, she is still somewhat worried because the learning conditions on the island limit her opportunities to familiarize herself with the types of exam questions from Ho Chi Minh City. She mainly studies on her own and practices with exam questions under the guidance of her teachers at school.
According to Mr. Le Truc Thanh Tung, Principal of Le Hong Phong Secondary School (Con Dao Special Zone), this year's entrance exam for 10th grade in the special zone has 7 students going to the mainland to take the 10th grade entrance exam, a slight increase compared to previous years. Of these, 4 students registered to take the exam for public high schools in Ho Chi Minh City, and 3 students will take the exam for public schools in other localities. In addition, there are about 16 students who are expected to attend private high schools.
According to Mr. Tung, most students who choose to go to the mainland to take the exam are those with excellent academic achievements. Many families want their children to study in a more open environment, with more opportunities to experience and develop themselves.
To support the students, right from the beginning of the school year, the school reviewed the list of students who wished to take the entrance exam to the mainland. Subject teachers proactively provided review support from the beginning of the second semester and intensified training in May 2026 after the end-of-semester exams.
"Besides the support from the school, the most valuable thing is the students' strong self-learning spirit and great determination," Mr. Tung commented.
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/nhung-si-tu-vuot-bien-du-thi-lop-10-post855431.html
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