On 15/6, the Bac Ninh Department of Education and Training announced the 10th grade admission scores for 57 public high schools. This score represents the total points from three subjects: literature, mathematics, and English, without weighted coefficients, with a maximum of 30 points.

Ngo Si Lien high school drew attention with an admission score of 9,38, averaging 3,13 points per subject, the lowest in the entire province. For many years prior, this school held the highest 10th grade admission threshold in the province (both before and after the provincial reorganization), typically above 22 points. Last year, Ngo Si Lien high school's admission score was almost 23, also ranking first.

Ngo Quoc Duong, principal of Ngo Si Lien high school, attributed this unexpected outcome to two reasons.

First, Ngo Si Lien high school and Bac Giang specialized high school both increased their enrollment quotas by 45 and 35 students respectively, equivalent to one class each.

According to statistics, nearly 800 students applied for first preference to Ngo Si Lien high school this year, a decrease of about 50 compared to last year. There were no second preference applications. Of these applicants, over 200 students had already passed specialized high school exams, leaving the actual number of applicants to the school at nearly 560, while the quota was 585.

Consequently, the school had to admit all first-preference applicants, Duong explained.

Second, Duong suggested that student psychology might be a factor. Students were concerned because, in previous years, the school's admission score was consistently among the highest, deterring them from applying.

"Enrollment quota increased, application numbers decreased, leading to a lower admission score," Duong stated.

However, Duong affirmed that the school's input quality remained stable. Specifically, the average and median scores of nearly 560 admitted students reached over 24. The percentage of students scoring above 24 points was nearly 70%. Only 7 students scored below 15, with only one student scoring 9,38.

"This year's admission score does not represent the capabilities of all students or the quality of the school's education," Duong asserted.

Bac Ninh students taking the 10th grade entrance exam, 5/2026. *Bac Ninh Newspaper*.

The 10th grade entrance exam in Bac Ninh took place on 26-27/5, with over 50,000 candidates participating.

Ngo Si Lien high school, established in 1946, was formerly Hoang Hoa Tham school. The school received the Labor Hero title during the Doi Moi (Renovation) period in 2005, along with numerous Labor Orders and Independence Orders. It was a top-tier public high school in the former Bac Giang province, now Bac Ninh.

Thanh Hang