Early consultation on elective subject combinations for grade 10 students

Thereby helping students to be confident in their studies and future career orientation.

Accompanying students in difficult areas

After completing enrollment for the 2025-2026 school year, Nguyen Canh Chan High School (Dai Dong, Nghe An) has promptly organized consultation and guidance on registering for elective subject combinations for more than 400 10th grade students. This year, Nguyen Canh Chan High School has built classes oriented towards natural sciences ; social sciences (advanced) and social sciences (basic).

For students enrolled in the natural science group, in addition to the compulsory subjects, they will study Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Information Technology. As for the two social science groups, they will study additional elective subjects and specialized topics including Physics, Geography, Economics and Law and Information Technology.

Vi Tuan Hung, a Thai ethnic in Son Lam commune, Nghe An province, said he scored 14.25 points and registered his first choice for an advanced class in block C. However, the school only accepted one advanced class, and his score was quite low, so he registered his second choice for a basic class.

During the consultation session, many parents came to the school to enroll their children, but did not understand the new program. Mr. Trinh Xuan Nhu (Cat Ngan, Nghe An) struggled to hold the registration form. When all the students and parents had left, he went to the school's admissions office to ask the teachers to check one last time to see if the information was filled in correctly.

He said he registered on behalf of his grandson Trinh Quoc Viet, who was visiting his maternal home far away. Viet's father works as a factory worker in the North, and his mother worked abroad, so he has lived with his grandparents since third grade. "I'm old and can't understand the current curriculum. He called and read the information for me to write on the form, but I was afraid of making mistakes," said Mr. Trinh Xuan Nhu.

Mr. Nguyen Van Quyen - Head of Foreign Languages, Nguyen Canh Chan High School, participating in the consulting team shared that although the 2018 General Education Program has been implemented at the high school level for 3 years, students and parents are still unclear about the orientation of subjects and careers. "Personally, before participating in consulting, I have to carefully research the university entrance exam combinations of schools and career trends in the next 5-6 years. Find out what subjects students like to study, what they will do in the future and listen to them to provide appropriate support," Mr. Quyen shared.

At Cao Bang Ethnic Minority High School, in the 2025-2026 school year, the school will enroll 175 10th grade students. Due to the nature of the boarding school, many students are from remote areas, so the enrollment plan is expected to be held at the end of August.

Ms. Le Thi Lan Phuong - Principal of the school said: "We have organized training sessions and consultations within the Admissions Council to unify the implementation content. Teachers are assigned to set up Zalo groups in each area to disseminate information, guide admission procedures, and advise students on the new program as well as orientation for the high school graduation exam."

The school clearly defines the advisory role of homeroom teachers and subjects in helping students choose appropriate combinations. The arrangement of combinations is carried out in harmony between natural and social subjects, ensuring the right of students to choose but still within the school's teaching organization capacity.

Leaders of Nguyen Canh Chan High School advise parents and students on choosing classes that suit their abilities and career orientation. Photo: Ho Lai

Vocational guidance

With the characteristics of high school being a career education stage, students in addition to compulsory subjects will register for elective subjects and study topics. Therefore, most high schools organize counseling, orientation, and selection of subject combinations for 10th grade students. Thanh Chuong 1 High School (Dai Dong, Nghe An) from the end of the 2024 - 2025 school year has organized counseling on the 2018 General Education Program in the career education stage for middle schools in the enrollment area.

According to Mr. Nguyen Trieu Tien - Principal of the school, early counseling for secondary schools aims to connect and connect career guidance for students between two levels of education. "If we wait until students enter grade 10 to consult, they will not have much time to think carefully about choosing subject combinations and classes. Instead, there needs to be earlier preparation from when students are in secondary school through the school and teachers.

Accordingly, Thanh Chuong 1 High School introduces the facilities, teaching staff, classroom structure, teaching program, etc. for secondary schools to grasp and understand. Then, it disseminates to students, helping them have an initial awareness of the career education stage at high school level as well as the school they plan to take the 10th grade entrance exam. At the same time, it provides step 1 consultation for students to determine their own abilities and strengths in accordance with their orientation.

Meanwhile, Que Phong High School (Nghe An) has been implementing the inter-counseling solution for the past 3 years. This is the only high school in the old Que Phong border district.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Tu - Vice Principal of Que Phong High School said that parents in the highlands have less awareness and understanding of society in general and the education program in particular than students. Therefore, the school has made a document clearly informing about the types of classes at high school level and the corresponding elective subjects, and sent it to all secondary schools in the area. At the same time, it distributed opinion polls to grade 9 students.

After students register, they will submit it to the school to be transferred to the high school. When students have graduated from junior high school, based on the online registration form, Que Phong High School will analyze student data in the electronic transcript. On that basis, they will continue to advise and guide when students are admitted and officially enrolled in the school.

Adjust layer groups

According to Mr. Le Hai Nam - Vice Principal of Nguyen Canh Chan High School (Nghe An), when placing classes and advising students, we will base on the results of the 10th grade entrance exam, student capacity, structure of the teaching staff and future career orientation. Through the 2025 High School Graduation Exam and currently many universities have announced admission plans, showing that the admission combination has changed compared to before. In particular, some universities are gradually abandoning admission to block C00 for many professions. This is also a point that the school advises new students entering grade 10.

Mr. Le Hai Nam said: “The school does not divide into too many groups of classes, making it difficult for students and parents to choose. With the subject combinations, the school calculates so that students can study and participate in many exams at the same time such as high school graduation, university entrance and capacity assessment exams”.

In the 2025-2026 school year, Ngo Gia Tu High School (Lap Thach, Phu Tho) will enroll 630 10th grade students. With the view of not letting students "randomly choose" subject combinations when entering 10th grade, the school has built a systematic and practical counseling process.

Mr. Trieu Van Hai - Principal of Ngo Gia Tu High School shared: "In recent years, many universities have sharply reduced or stopped enrolling social groups. Meanwhile, natural groups or combined methods are expanding. We carefully advise students to choose groups not only to study well but also to have a higher chance of entering university later."

From this orientation, the rate of students choosing natural subject combinations at Ngo Gia Tu High School in recent years has been about 70%. After orienting class selection, the school has a specific plan for teaching and exam preparation. In 2025, the whole school will achieve 100% high school graduation. Of which, 473/580 students scored 24 points or higher (according to the university entrance exam combination), 54 students scored 27 points or higher. In addition, many students participate in competency assessment exams, thinking assessments or possess international foreign language certificates.

In the 2025-2026 school year, Lang Son Ethnic Boarding High School will enroll 180 students in grade 10, divided into 6 classes. From the beginning of July, the school organized a gathering for all grade 10 students to receive applications and advise students and parents on choosing subject combinations according to the new orientation of the program.

Ms. Nguyen Thanh Thao - Vice Principal of the school said: "The consulting team not only introduces the program, but also analyzes the teaching conditions at the school and career trends, thereby helping students and parents understand better when choosing the right combination."

A notable point in this school year in Lang Son is that the Department of Education and Training encourages students to choose Chinese as their first foreign language. This is one of the important orientations in education in border areas, creating conditions for students to access and develop foreign language skills suitable to local characteristics. "The school has prepared teachers and facilities to organize Chinese classes for 10th grade students this year," Ms. Nguyen Thanh Thao added.

“In the career education stage, students do not choose subjects to get high scores, but for future jobs and careers. We advise students to choose a combination based on specific career goals, suitable to their abilities, interests and social human resource needs.

Choosing the right subject combination not only helps students reduce pressure and gain confidence in their 3 years of high school, but also helps them develop sustainably in their careers and future lives," said Mr. Nguyen Hong Tu - Vice Principal of Que Phong High School (Nghe An).

Source: https://giaoducthoidai.vn/tu-van-som-to-hop-mon-tu-chon-cho-hoc-sinh-khoi-10-post741429.html