From fear of math, Lao Cai female student achieved high math score in an international exam

Từ sợ toán, nữ sinh Lào Cai để đạt điểm toán cao nhất Việt Nam - Ảnh 1. — Cao Hong Lam, a female 11th grade student in Phu Tho, has just been honored by OxfordAQA.

"Really impressive"

Hong Lam is currently a grade 11 student at the Canadian International School in Lao Cai , and took part in the international GCSE exam held in May. Recently, OxfordAQA (UK) - the exam organizer - sent the exam results, in which Lam achieved the highest score of A* in math. This result also helped her receive the "Top in country - Go further" award in 2025 (tentatively translated: Top in country - Go further) awarded by OxfordAQA.

In a congratulatory letter to Hong Lam, a representative of OxfordAQA commented that the above achievements "are truly impressive, demonstrating the skills, efforts and diligence of the students and the school's teaching staff".

OxfordAQA is an examination board established by Oxford University Press (Oxford University) and AQA (UK examination organization) and is currently taught in more than 500 schools worldwide. According to the UK Qualifications Recognition Center (UK NURIC), OxfordAQA, along with Cambridge and International Pearson Edexcel, are the examination boards that recognize degrees and certificates equivalent to the UK's GCSE and A-level.

According to the school representative, every year, tens of thousands of candidates worldwide take OxfordAQA exams, including the international GCSE exam. The school added that Lam is also one of the students who has been awarded a full scholarship since enrolling at the school, and the scholarship has been maintained until now, in the fourth year, because the female student "always achieves excellent results in all aspects".

The journey from fear to high math scores

Talking to Thanh Nien , Lam shared that achieving the highest math score in the international GCSE exam was completely beyond her expectations. That's because in the first years of junior high school, when she returned to Vietnam after studying abroad because of her parents' work, she encountered many obstacles in reading and understanding mathematical terms and following lessons in class. By the eighth grade, the female student left public school, went to an international school and began to get acquainted with the new program, from which she gradually became more motivated to study math.

"The change in language and the way teachers teach is a turning point," Lam confided.

However, this journey to regain passion for math is not easy, because the curriculum includes subjects that are more popular at university level such as matrices, and at the same time integrates many other skills besides pure math solving such as statistics, data analysis...

"In addition to receiving guidance from teachers, I also self-study and research online, as well as print out additional questions to do at home to practice," Lam said. "The important thing is to know where your weaknesses are and what you need to study, without avoiding them. You have to create a feeling of being ready for the exam, not being afraid of a certain type of question."

"My father is a great inspiration to me on the path to conquering knowledge, because he is always looking for opportunities to improve his own abilities and understanding. He is also the one who nurtures my curiosity and love of learning, creating in me the habit of learning thoroughly and not just knowing superficially. For example, in math, I not only memorize formulas but also look for the logical origin behind each rule," Hong Lam shared.

The female student added that in addition to math, her English exam score also reached the highest level of A*. At school, she continuously achieved the highest average score and was the first student council president, helping to create many activities for her classmates.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tu-so-toan-nu-sinh-lao-cai-dat-diem-toan-cao-trong-mot-ky-thi-quoc-te-185251017202638273.htm