Nguyen Hao Thien, a 12th grade student at Le Thanh Tong Primary - Secondary - High School (HCMC), was very surprised when he received the news that he became the valedictorian of block A01 nationwide.

In block A01, Thien scored 9.8 points in math and English, and 10 points in physics. Thien also scored quite high in the remaining subjects, including: 8.25 points in literature; 7.75 points in chemistry; 8.25 points in biology; and 8.67 points in natural science.

"When I looked at my score on the system, I couldn't believe my eyes because my literature score was 8.25, because I only got around 6-7 points for this subject. What's more special is that I became the valedictorian of block A01 nationwide" - Thien excitedly said.

Thien said his mother is a teacher, his father is a doctor, and his brother is studying dentistry at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Ho Chi Minh City, but Thien has no intention of following his family's career path. Admitting that he is an introvert, combined with his passion for computers, the student plans to apply for his first choice in computer science at the University of Technology - VNU-HCM.

Thien confided that 2 months ago, he only got 26-27 points in the practice tests and periodic tests. This unintentionally put pressure on Thien. After calming himself down, Thien started to plan his revision seriously.

"There was a time when I studied from 6am until dawn the next day before going to bed. During the study, I didn't use my phone. I had very little time to rest," Thien recalls.

Mr. Dong Van Chien, homeroom teacher of class 12E1, Le Thanh Tong Secondary School, said that Thien won first prize in the calculator math competition and second prize in the math competition for excellent students at the city level. In the capacity assessment exam organized by Ho Chi Minh City National University, Thien also scored a high score of 988/1,200 points. In addition, the male student also achieved an IELTS score of 8.0.