Candidates beam with joy as they enter the exam that is 'even more stressful than the university entrance exam'.

On the morning of May 30th, over 124,000 students in Hanoi began their entrance exams for 10th grade at public high schools, a record number in the last 10 years.

At 6:15 AM on May 30th, hundreds of students flocked to the exam center at Tran Duy Hung Secondary School (Yen Hoa Ward, Hanoi ). This morning, they will begin the 10th grade entrance exam for public high schools, a record-breaking number in the last 10 years. The cool weather facilitated travel for both students and parents on the first day of the exam.

The atmosphere was a mix of nervousness and excitement. Many candidates appeared relaxed, with radiant smiles after a long period of preparation.

The exam location was quite far from home, so Nguyen Manh Dung (a student from Xuan La Secondary School) and his mother started their journey at 5:45 AM. Sitting behind his mother on the motorbike, the boy was constantly encouraged and motivated. Therefore, Dung entered the exam with the utmost confidence. “I’ve studied very thoroughly and done many practice exams, so I’m very confident in my current knowledge,” Dung said. He added that he applied to Yen Hoa High School – a top school in Hanoi – as his first choice, and therefore aimed for a score above 27 points.

Encouragement hugs, pats on the shoulder from parents, and constant wishes for good luck echoed before the students took their exams.

The atmosphere inside the examination center was equally tense. Many students were busy discussing and predicting the Literature exam questions – the first subject in this exam period. Best friends Nguyen Bao Anh and Luong Ngoc Thuy Duong (from Ngo Si Lien Secondary School) said they had practiced over 50 Literature exam papers, so they entered the exam room feeling both nervous and excited. Both hoped the exam would focus on short stories, as this is a type of question they are more confident in after their preparation. The two girls reminded each other to treat this "like a semester exam" to reduce pressure.

“Good luck, do well on the exam!”, “Do your best, don’t make any small mistakes!”, “Just do your hardest!” Khanh An (a student from Doan Thi Diem Secondary School) encouraged her best friend Quynh An before entering the exam room. Literature is her strong subject; both girls scored 8.5-9 points in mock exams, so they were very confident. After a comforting hug, they quickly adjusted their papers, checked their supplies, and hurried to their exam rooms. “I’m ready!”, Quynh An declared confidently.

This year, Hanoi has approximately 147,000 junior high school graduates, of which more than 124,000 registered to take the entrance exam for public high schools. With an enrollment quota of around 82,600, the ratio of students securing a place is over 56% of the graduating class. Therefore, alongside confidence, many candidates are feeling nervous and anxious.

Many students took the opportunity to open their study guides for one last review. Some stood huddled under the shade of trees, muttering the material to themselves, while others sat on their parents' motorbikes, their eyes glued to their notebooks filled with writing.

As the locality with the highest number of high school entrance exam candidates in the country, Hanoi has arranged 224 official examination centers with more than 5,300 examination rooms and mobilized 17,800 officials, teachers, and staff to serve the exam.

The examination boards arranged a separate area, at least 25 meters away from the examination rooms, for candidates to deposit their belongings before entering. The containers were distributed by room to prevent the loss of candidates' items. Before the exam, teachers repeatedly reminded students to leave their backpacks, phones, and prohibited items outside to avoid violating exam regulations.

At 7:00 AM, most candidates had entered the examination rooms, and the area in front of the school gate gradually emptied. At 8:00 AM, they will take the first exam - Literature. Candidates will complete the essay exam in 120 minutes. At 2:00 PM on the same day, students will take the Foreign Language exam for 60 minutes. On the morning of May 31st, they will take the Mathematics exam, with a time limit of 120 minutes. Students applying to specialized schools will take an additional specialized subject exam on June 1st.

Candidates should note that for each exam session, they must be present in the 10th grade exam room at the specified time and obey the instructions and guidance of the invigilators. Candidates arriving more than 15 minutes late after the start time will not be allowed to take the exam that session.

In the early summer sunshine, many parents of students still lingered outside the examination centers, anxiously waiting and watching their children's every move. Given the unpredictable weather in Hanoi, the Department of Education and Training had devised a plan to provide medical support at the examination sites. At the same time, communes and wards also arranged suitable waiting areas for the candidates' family members.

Source: https://znews.vn/thi-sinh-rang-ro-buoc-vao-ky-thi-cang-hon-thi-dai-hoc-post1655235.html