Ho Chi Minh City: Over 151,000 candidates register for the 10th grade entrance exam at public schools.

On the morning of May 31st, more than 151,000 ninth-grade students who had just completed their junior high school program in Ho Chi Minh City began the procedures to take the entrance exam for public high schools for the 2026-2027 school year.

Candidates register for the 10th grade entrance exam at the Dong Da Secondary School examination center. Photo: THU TAM

At the exam site at Dong Da Secondary School (Thanh My Tay ward), a large number of candidates had already gathered at the school gate from 8:30 AM.

Students at Binh Quoi Tay Secondary School confidently prepare for the exam registration process. Photo: THU TAM

Mr. Vu Van Quyet, homeroom teacher of class 9A1 at Thanh Da Secondary School (Binh Quoi ward), said that all homeroom teachers of 9th grade classes were present at the exam site gate from 8 a.m. to wait to take attendance.

"Even though the students are only here today to complete the registration procedures, the teachers are closely monitoring them to ensure that no student encounters any problems with paperwork or forgets the exam schedule. Throughout the two days of the exam, we will be present at the school gate to provide timely support to our students whenever needed," said teacher Vu Van Quyet.

Mr. Vu Van Quyet, homeroom teacher of class 9A1, Thanh Da Secondary School (Binh Quoi ward), takes attendance at the gate of the Dong Da Secondary School examination center. Photo: THU TAM

As one of the candidates who arrived at the exam site very early, Do Le Tan Hung, a 9th-grade student from Dong Da Secondary School, shared that he was afraid of rain or crowds at the school gate, so he left home at 8 a.m. This candidate felt quite relaxed because he was taking the exam right at his secondary school; however, he carefully checked his documents several times before arriving to complete the registration procedures to avoid any unnecessary problems.

Students at Dong Da Secondary School appear relaxed and confident before completing the exam registration procedures. Photo: THU TAM

For Pham Dang Vinh Khang, a 9th-grade student from Thanh Da Secondary School, he felt a little anxious but not overly stressed. Before the exam, Vinh Khang said that his teachers reminded the students to eat properly before each exam because "you can't do anything without proper nutrition." For the Literature exam, he hoped the essay topics would be relevant to their age group, such as young people contributing to nation-building, or using artificial intelligence applications like GPT Chat and Gemini.

For Pham Nguyen Hoang An, a student in class 9A1 at Binh Quoi Tay Secondary School (Binh Quoi ward), the presence of her homeroom teachers at the exam site to take attendance and remind her of necessary documents made her feel quite reassured and confident.

A candidate carefully reviews the list of examination rooms. Photo: THU TAM

"For Literature, I hope the exam topic will be 'The Nation's Rise'. For Math, I'm a little worried about the practical problems and advanced questions in geometry. For this exam, I registered Vo Thi Sau High School as my first choice, so I will do my best to get the best possible results," said candidate Hoang An.

According to Mr. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Deputy Head of the Dong Da Secondary School examination center, the center has 38 examination rooms and 1 reserve room, with a total of 909 candidates participating in the exam. The examination center has arranged a storage area for candidates' belongings located 30 meters away from the examination rooms.

The invigilator calls out the names of the candidates before they enter the examination room. Photo: THU TAM

"Tomorrow morning, candidates must be present at the examination room at 7:00 AM and at 1:00 PM. Candidates should arrive 30 minutes early, i.e., at 6:30 AM and 12:30 PM, to account for rain or unexpected situations. Please remember to only bring essential items into the examination room; mobile phones are strictly prohibited. If you need to bring other items such as a jacket or umbrella, you must leave them in the designated storage area," the Deputy Head of the Dong Da Secondary School examination center noted.

Most candidates felt confident and relaxed on the first day of the exam registration process. Photo: THU TAM

On the first day of the exam registration process, invigilators checked the exam documents, explained the exam regulations, reminded candidates of the items allowed and not allowed in the exam room, noted the ink color to be used, and explained some regulations regarding marking answers on multiple-choice questions.

Tomorrow morning (May 31st), candidates will take the first exam, Literature, with a time limit of 120 minutes; in the afternoon, they will take the Foreign Language exam, with a time limit of 90 minutes.

Exam supervisors review exam regulations in the examination rooms. Photo: THU TAM

For the 2026-2027 school year, the entrance exam for 10th grade in public schools will take place on June 1st and 2nd, 2026. Candidates will take three compulsory exams: Literature (120 minutes), Mathematics (120 minutes), and Foreign Language (90 minutes). Candidates taking specialized/integrated subjects will also take an additional exam in their chosen subject on the afternoon of June 2nd.

The exam was held at 242 testing locations, including 226 locations for regular 10th grade classes and 16 locations for specialized/integrated 10th grade classes.

To facilitate the exam, the city mobilized more than 17,700 teachers and staff to serve as invigilators and supervisors.

THU TAM

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/tphcm-hon-151000-thi-sinh-lam-thu-tuc-du-thi-lop-10-cong-lap-post855217.html