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| Ho Duc Trung clinched an international silver medal in biology. Photo provided by the character |
Proud achievements
Sharing with Thua Thien Hue Newspaper correspondent, from Kazakhstan before leaving for the airport to return home, Ho Duc Trung was overjoyed to clinch a medal at the Olympiad. This is the result of a marathon journey of his effort and the teachers’ nurture. “ I am greatly delighted and quite satisfied with this result. To enter this Olympiad, I exerted myself in the provincial and national rounds, and then was selected for the Olympiad," Trung said.
With a practical score of 74.5% and a theoretical score of 61.5%, teachers and students of Quoc Hoc - Hue High School for the Gifted were very hopeful that Trung would win the gold. However, a bit unluckily, Trung only earned the silver when his score was very close to the gold.
“It’s a pity that Trung’s score is very close to the gold’s. With the method of T-score calculation by coefficient, Trung's score dropped. However, winning the silver is already an outstanding achievement. Many strong teams worldwide only achieved silvers, bronzes, or even no medals," shared Mr. Nguyen Phu Tho, Principal of Quoc Hoc - Hue High School for the Gifted.
The 35th IBO is the competition with the largest-ever number of participating countries including 81 countries, territories, and 320 candidates. According to the Regulation by the International IBO Association, the competition awards prizes to no more than 10% of candidates who win golds, 20% of candidates who win silvers, and 30% of candidates who win bronzes. The total of medals awarded this year includes 28 golds, 56 silvers, and 84 bronzes.
This year, the Vietnamese team achieved excellent results when all 4 students of the team won medals, including 3 golds and 1 silver. Thanks to this achievement, Vietnam ranked 3rd out of 81 participating countries and territories. This was the best achievement since the Covid-19 pandemic (2019). If in 2021, Vietnam achieved 1 silver and 3 bronzes, and in 2022 achieved 1 silver and 2 bronzes, then this year's 3 golds and 1 silver are the outstanding progress made by the Vietnamese delegation. For the first time, many Vietnamese students achieved good results in practical tests which require very high standards in this Olympiad.
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| Members of the Vietnamese team at the 35th IBO. Photo provided by the character |
At the 35th IBO, candidates underwent 2 official exam days with the exam time lasting 6 - 8 hours per day. 2 official exam days included 1 day of theoretical exam with 2 exam papers and 1 day of practical exam with 4 laboratories on molecular biology, biochemistry, animal anatomy and physiology, and bio-informatics.
According to Assoc. Prof., Dr. Dinh Doan Long, Head of Vietnam IBO Delegation, this year's exam requires candidates to be knowledgeable in theory and proficient in practical skills, correctly and effectively apply knowledge and skills of biology from the classical to the modern in solving many diverse problems of global issues, such as agricultural production, environmental protection amid climate change, renewable energy, green energy, health care community health, disease prevention and new disease treatment solutions, etc.
Efforts behind the medal
Right as a student at Nguyen Tri Phuong Lower Secondary School, Ho Duc Trung had a special passion for biology and liked to do biological experiments. He came first in the Biology grade 10 entrance exam, Quoc Hoc - Hue High School for the Gifted. Since the summer of grade 8, Ho Duc Trung was discovered and nurtured by teacher Nguyen Thi Dieu Hanh, Head of the Biology Division, Quoc Hoc - Hue High School for the Gifted. With an early orientation combined with Trung's passion, Ms. Hanh guided and equipped him with the knowledge to participate in the National Excellent Student Competition right from grade 10. In grade 11, Trung gained broader knowledge, earned the 2nd prize in the National Excellent Student Competition, and set the target of joining the international team in grade 12.
With unremitting efforts, Ho Duc Trung became a member of the international biology team. Mr. Nguyen Phu Tho said, "To be a member of the Vietnamese team at the Olympiad, students must get ready right from grade 10 and receive training from teachers throughout the preparation period for national competitions in grades 10, 11, and 12. The results from these exams showed that Trung made headway after each exam."
To be on the international team is a hard nut to crack because, among the 32 best students in the National Excellent Student Competition, only 4 students are selected, after sitting a very tough examination including 2 days of theoretical testing and 1 day of practical testing. Students who qualify for the international team must be passionate about biology, have sharp mathematical thinking, be good at English, and be in good health. Ho Duc Trung has all the above factors, so he is confident enough to enter the big arena.
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| Those achievements are the fruit of Ho Duc Trung's marathon journey of efforts. Photo provided by the character |
Ho Duc Trung shared his secret, "I am crazy about biology, especially doing experiments. To conquer the competition, besides school time, I self-study and read many books. When studying, I must focus, set clear goals, and learn from my own mistakes but put no pressure on myself."
During the improvement of knowledge in Hanoi according to the plan by the Ministry of Education and Training in preparation for the Olympiad, Ho Duc Trung always redoubled his effort to sit mock tests and always get high scores. “Ho Duc Trung is good at self-study, reads books, and grasps information very quickly. Under the guidance of his teachers, Trung knew how to logically arrange information and knowledge to solve difficult problems posed in the exam papers. In the international team selection exam, there are classification tests, the most difficult of which is practice, but with good practical skills, Trung achieved the highest score in the practical test among the 4 students selected for the Olympiad. In the IBO, Trung also finalized the practical test very well," Ms. Dieu Hanh commented.
What is special is that Ho Duc Trung's elder brother, Ho Viet Duc (studying at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology), a former student of Quoc Hoc - Hue High School for the Gifted, also earned a gold at the 31st IBO in 2020. This is the first time that Quoc Hoc - Hue High School for the Gifted has had both siblings selected for the international biology team. Both brothers have a passion for biology, good mathematical thinking, and excel at English (Both of them achieved an IELTS score of 8.0).
Ms. Dieu Hanh recalled that when Ho Viet Duc entered grade 10, she discovered that Duc had the characteristics and potential of students taking international exams like Truong Dong Hung, who won a gold in 2017. Ms. Hanh has developed a training plan since Duc was in grade 10. In grade 11, he sat the exam to select excellent students for the Olympiad and ranked 5th (The team only selected 4). In grade 12, Duc was determined to win the first prize in the National Excellent Student Competition, always ranked first in international student selection exams, and won a gold.
After Ho Viet Duc's achievements, Ho Duc Trung also continued his passion for biology like his elder brother. Passionate, self-taught, and quick-witted, both brothers are very confident when entering the big international arena. It is great that both brothers brought medals to their home province, adding to the proud achievements of Quoc Hoc - Hue High School for the Gifted.