Male student won first prize in Math and Physics of Nghe An

Phan Duy Manh, 17 years old, won first prize in both Math and Physics in the provincial excellent student exam, a "very rare" case in Nghe An.

Manh is currently a 12A1 student at Huynh Thuc Khang High School, Vinh City. He learned that he won first prize in Math and Physics on October 22, with scores of 16.5 and 18.38/20 points, respectively.

Manh said he was sitting in class at the time, and it took him a few seconds to calm down. He received many congratulations from teachers and friends. Because he was busy with work, Manh's parents knew the last. When they returned home in the evening, his parents were silent for a few seconds, then hugged him and encouraged him, "The road is still long, we need to try harder."

With the bonus money after the exam, Manh plans to buy a computer to help with his studies.

"I wanted to buy a computer for a long time, but seeing my parents work hard and the family's finances being difficult, I didn't dare ask for it," Manh shared.

Mr. Dao Cong Loi, Deputy Director of the Nghe An Department of Education and Training, said that the province organizes the excellent student exam in two groups. Group A is for candidates from schools in cities and plains. Group B is for students from mountainous districts, vocational education centers - continuing education centers and students from non-public schools. The exam questions in the two groups are different, group A is usually more difficult.

"It is very rare for a candidate to win two first prizes in Group A at the same time," said Mr. Loi. He acknowledged that the pressure in the natural science knowledge exams is very high. Nghe An has had students taking two exams, but few. The Department has recorded cases where they won first prize in one subject, but the other subject would win a lower prize or not win. Therefore, Mr. Loi assessed Phan Duy Manh's achievement as "very excellent".

Phan Duy Manh talks about his journey to winning two first prizes in the provincial excellent student contest in Math and Physics. Photo: Duc Hung

Manh is the eldest of two children in Hung Chinh commune, Hung Nguyen district. His father is a forest ranger and his mother is an employee of a road maintenance company. Because his parents often work far away, Manh and his brothers have to be independent early. Outside of school, he is often the one who manages everything in the house and guides his younger brother in his studies.

The male student said that since 2nd grade he has had a passion for Math, always feeling interested in numbers and calculations. In secondary school at Dang Chanh Ky Secondary School (Nam Dan district), Manh took extra Physics lessons and was absorbed in the lectures of this subject.

In high school, Manh cycled more than 5 km every day from Hung Nguyen district to Huynh Thuc Khang High School in Vinh City to study. At the new school, Manh was not an outstanding student. He admitted that he absorbed knowledge quietly, "just did his job well", and had little interaction with teachers and friends. However, in the final exam of grade 10, he was one of three students with the highest Physics score in the school.

In grade 11, Manh continued to make remarkable progress in science subjects, solving many difficult problems, and was in the top group of the whole grade in mid-term and final exams in both Math and Physics. Therefore, the male student was called to join the Physics and Math teams at the same time to participate in the provincial excellent student exam.

"I originally planned to focus on Physics, but after two weeks of thinking, I decided to choose both subjects. Besides challenging myself to see my limits, I also wanted to create something surprising for the teachers - the people who have high expectations of me," Manh said.

Despite his determination, the male student gradually felt pressured by the large amount of knowledge and the intense review. About a month before the exam, in addition to studying at school, Manh always practiced until 12 midnight when he returned home. Many days, when his parents were on duty and did not come home, Manh's younger brother, who was in 9th grade, cooked and did all the housework so that he could concentrate on studying.

Manh and his younger brother (left) take care of each other because their parents often work far away. Photo: Phan Manh

During the exam, Manh had high expectations for his favorite subject, Physics. The exam consisted of 5 essay questions and had a time limit of 150 minutes. The male student regretted the most the question about the resonance phenomenon. At first, he could not fully explain his ideas because he did not understand the nature of the question. When he calmly found the answer, he ran out of time.

In Math, the male student said that the test only had two difficult questions about inequalities, for "superhuman" students. The remaining questions were within Manh's ability.

"After the exam, I thought I could win first prize in Physics and second prize in Math," Manh said. However, the male student had a feeling he would do "something special."

Mr. Dau Thanh Ky, a math teacher, assessed Manh as having good thinking, beautiful handwriting, and solid work. With a difficult math problem, he always digs deep into the root of the problem, then develops other ideas.

"At first, he was not outstanding compared to his classmates, but after a while, he surpassed them spectacularly," said Mr. Ky.

According to Ms. Le Thi Hong Lam, Vice Principal of Huynh Thuc Khang High School, when receiving the list of candidates for the excellent student exam, the school board was worried that Manh would take two exams at the same time, worried that he would be very tired and overloaded. However, when they saw Manh's great determination, the teachers had no reason to refuse, and the results were beyond expectations. Manh is the first student of Huynh Thuc Khang High School to achieve this achievement.

Manh shared that the secret to studying science subjects well is "nothing big", simply concentrate on listening to lectures in class, and spend time reviewing advanced exercises at home. During stressful study times, the male student often rests, exercises, and listens to music.

Manh's upcoming goal is to focus on the thinking assessment exam, getting points to apply to "hot" majors at Hanoi University of Science and Technology.

"I always tell myself that if I try and make an effort to move forward, I will see results," Manh said.

Duc Hung

Vnexpress.net