Son La Specialized High School honors students who won prizes at the national excellent student competition in the 2023-2024 school year.

In the final days of the year, the team preparing for the national excellent student competition at Son La Specialized High School continues its diligent work, determined to achieve high results in the national excellent student competition to be held in early 2025. Teacher Dang Thu Hien, who coaches the geography team, commented: "The students have been reviewing foundational knowledge from an early age; studying specialized topics and in-depth knowledge; participating in guest lectures, accessing leading experts and professors in the subject, and are determined to achieve the best possible results."

Ms. Pham Thi Thuan, Principal of Son La Specialized High School, said: "Achieving high results in the exam reflects the quality of the province's advanced education. The school selects experienced and highly qualified teachers to prepare the students. We organize multiple assessment exams to evaluate and learn from experience for both teachers and students, creating favorable conditions for students to achieve high results."

In Son La City, during the past school year, 164 students won third prize or higher in the provincial-level junior high school student excellence competitions and science and technology competitions, as well as national and international online competitions. The city has consistently maintained its position as one of the leading units in the province in the provincial-level student excellence competition, contributing to the city's inclusion in the global network of learning cities.

Currently, the province has 610 schools from preschool to high school, with over 375,000 students and more than 23,000 teachers. Improving the quality of education has always been a priority for the province. The Provincial People's Council has issued Resolution No. 124/2019/NQ-HĐND on policies to encourage the improvement of teaching and learning quality in education and training activities. This includes mechanisms and policies to support and motivate students who achieve high rankings in competitions. Each school year, the province organizes ceremonies to commend and honor students, groups of authors who win awards, and teachers whose students win national, provincial, district, and city-level awards. Before each competition, meetings are held to encourage the teams and teachers with material and moral support.

Based on provincial policies and the major orientation of the education sector, which focuses on advanced education alongside comprehensive education for students, the Department of Education and Training always pays attention to building a team of qualified and competent administrators and teachers; building a core team of teachers to train gifted students at all levels. It innovates the methods of selecting and training gifted students, ensuring the smooth transition between educational levels. It invests in facilities and equipment to support teaching and training for gifted student teams; and to support scientific research. Educational institutions have promoted the "Innovation and Creativity in Teaching and Learning" emulation movement; selecting and sending student delegations to participate in many intellectual competitions, exchanges, and contests at all levels.

In the last three academic years, 41 students won national awards for academic excellence; the number of awards increased each year; and the number of high schools with award-winning students is also increasing. At the 20th National Youth and Children's Innovation Competition in 2024, the school won two consolation prizes. The high school graduation rate in 2024 reached 99.84%. In the provincial-level high school academic excellence competition, 1,202 students won awards; at the junior high school level, 811 students won awards. The science and technology competition for high school students was successfully organized, selecting 105 out of 201 projects to participate in the final round, with 93 projects receiving awards; two projects were selected to compete at the national level (one project won a promising project award).

Mr. Nguyen Huy Hoang, Director of the Department of Education and Training, stated: Building on the achievements, the Department will continue to advise the province on policies and mechanisms for developing and improving the system of high-quality schools in 12 districts and cities. Simultaneously, it will advise on finalizing the development strategy for Son La Specialized High School for the period 2021-2025, with a vision to 2030, aiming to become a high-quality specialized school with a modern educational environment on par with leading high schools in the country and the region. The Department will also promote the "Teaching well, learning well" emulation movement, improving the overall quality of education and the quality of specialized programs.

Advanced education continues to be identified as a crucial task, aimed at developing high-quality human resources. With the achievements already made, it is believed that the province's advanced education will continue to make breakthroughs, reap more successes, and affirm the position of Son La's education in the new era.

Nguyen Thu