Vu Hoang Khanh Uyen, class 9B, secondary sector of Hanoi - Amsterdam High School for the Gifted has just become the valedictorian among this year’s soon-to-be 10th-graders in Hanoi, with a total score of 48.5. Khanh Uyen scored 9.25 points in Literature and 10 points in both Mathematics and English.

“I burst with joy when I saw my mark. I was most surprised with my Literature score”, Khanh Uyen expressed on the evening of July 8th.

According to Uyen, she had been longing for the results day after day, and yesterday afternoon, she and her group of friends checked the marks online. The score was beyond her wildest dreams, especially in Literature.

Before that, Khanh Uyen got accepted into the Biology Specialised class of HNUE High School (Hanoi National University of Education) and High School for Gifted students of Science (Hanoi University of Science, Vietnam National University). In the entrance exam for public High schools, she aimed for a Biology major and got 7.25 points in Biology. The student registered for Biology Specialised classes at both Hanoi - Amsterdam and Nguyen Hue High School for the Gifted.

In the previous year, the Biology Department of Hanoi - Amsterdam High School had an admission score of 39.5, according to the formula: Admission score = Maths + Literature + Foreign Language + Specialty x 2. With this calculation, Khanh Uyen can confidently secure a spot as one of Hanoi - Amsterdam’s gifted students in Biology this year.

Ms Hoang Thi To Oanh, Khanh Uyen’s mother, said that after the exam, the whole family looked forward to the announcement date. With the assumption that the Hanoi Department of Education and Training might publish the score on July 8th, she kept an eye on the computer screen since morning and was on pins and needles until 15:00 to check the results on the system.

“I was ecstatic. When Uyen finished the test, she claimed to have done it quite well, but I did not expect her to be the valedictorian,” said Ms Oanh.

Vu Hoang Khanh Uyen, valedictorian of the Hanoi public High schools entrance exam with 48.5 points. 

As far as Uyen was concerned, this year’s Literature topic has the same format as last year and coincides with her revision. The student deemed her work to be “sufficient in content” but was not confident in writing well. Khanh Uyen finds it most difficult in the social discourse section, as she needed to discuss the soul deep inside each person. At that time, she spent a lot of time brainstorming and writing an outline on the draft paper, before completing it on the exam paper.

“I filled four pages of the exam paper and was quite satisfied with my work, but I estimated it to be around 8 to 8.5,” Khanh Uyen said.

With English and Maths, she was confident to get the maximum score. Uyen shared that she was always at the top of her class in Maths and English, but Literature was not her strength. Uyen often practised with many mock tests to fix her presentation and avoid losing trivial points.

Scoring high in the three main subjects, but for Khanh Uyen, Biology is the apple of her eye. In 9th grade, her final mark in Biology was 9.5. Khanh Uyen’s love of Biology started in 8th grade through interesting lectures and knowledge that her teacher provided in class. Back then, she majored in Chemistry, but ever since she fell in love with Biology, Uyen asked her mother to find a specialised teacher for the subject.

“Biology is challenging, but I always love a challenge to broaden my knowledge. I was equipped with information about the human body in the previous years, but in grade 9, I dug deep into the study of cells, microorganisms and bacteria”, she commented.

Thanks to participating in the school’s Biology team, she received in-depth knowledge and support from her teachers. Khanh Uyen also researches online materials on her own and takes a liking to reading about fascinating matters in the biological world.

Biology exercises often involve computation. Instead of only learning the formulas, Khanh Uyen strives to grasp the foundational theory and process information before practising. At home, Khanh Uyen spends most of the time studying Biology, then moves on to Literature, Maths, and English. As a 9th-grader, she came in third in an excellent student Biology contest.

Mr Truong Nam Phuong, the homeroom teacher of class 9B, was impressed with Uyen due to her diligence and politeness. Khanh Uyen “has good character, high self-discipline and is incredibly well-rounded,” Phuong said, adding that she “regularly won the term and academic year honorary scholarships”.

In the eyes of relatives, Khanh Uyen is always strong-willed and independent in her studies. She single-handedly made the decision to pursue her passion, only relying on her parents for transportation and finding classes. In the future, the student aimed to work in the field of Biotechnology, as the industry has high applicability.

Translator: Tran Linh Ngan - English 2124