To open the ceremony, students of Hanoi – Amsterdam High School for the Gifted held a series of welcoming performances.

Cam Ca’s performance of the song “Viet Nam que huong toi” (“Vietnam my Hometown”)

Cheer Ams’s performance

The performance of “Hello Vietnam” by Nguyen Ngoc Ha Chi and the dancers from grade 9

191 excellent students, including 51 Math contestants, 40 Physics contestants, 33 Chemistry contestants, 33 Biology contestants and 34 Informatics contestants, from 36 provinces around the country have gathered for the Opening Ceremony in the jubilant, exciting atmosphere.

Mr. Mai Van Trinh, representative of the Quality Control Department of the Ministry of Education and Training and the Scoring Board, stated: the National Excellent High School Student Competition schoolyear 2020 – 2021 had been held rigidly in all stages; the scoring results had showed that the exam prompts are accurate and highly differential.

Especially, during this year’s contest, every party participating in the contest had students achieving awards, including 26 parties with students awarded first prizes, 53 parties with students awarded second prizes, 64 parties with students awarded third prizes. He also promised to organize a rigid competition with no cheating, so that the most excellent students will be chosen, creating an equal playground. Mr. Trinh shared: “Out of 191 students, we will pick only 30 students, meaning that there will be students who don’t get picked. But that doesn’t mean they are failures. They have sat here, so they are already winners. With faith, intelligence, determination, and the care of their families and society, their journey forward is wide open.”

Next was the speech from Mr. Pham Xuan Tien, Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Education and Training. He expressed his pride about the talented generation of students, not just in terms of intellect but also extracurricular activities. “The students who joined the competition aren’t just bringing honor to themselves, to their families and their schools, but also their provinces and cities.”

The ceremony was also attended by Nguyen Manh Quan, from 12 Physics 1 of Hanoi – Amsterdam High School of the Gifted, representative for the country’s students participating in the International Olympiad. He advised the students joining the competition and the later generations: “The pressure now is the motivation for us to do our best, accomplishing our duties with our families and country.”

2020 was a year full of challenges and obstacles with the COVID-19 pandemic and the series of storms, but the Vietnamese youth still managed to achieve high accomplishments, bringing honor to the country’s flag colors on the international stage. The reporters from Ams Wide Web want to send the most sincere wishes to 191 competitors in the contest in the upcoming days. You have surpassed thousands of excellent students to earn your place in this contest; the quest to conquer knowledge and honor your country is only a few days away. You are forever the winners, the pride and glory of your nation.

Reporter: To Ha Anh - Literature 2023

Translator: Dinh Thu Ngan - English 1922