The students at Giang Vo Secondary School in Hanoi, representing Vietnamese students, took part in the Olympiad, which is an annual competition in math and science for primary school students.

Doan Cong Thao, headmaster of the Giang Vo Secondary School, said this was the first time the school had sent its students to an international competition.

The school’s management board had told the students to try their best, and did not set up any specific targets.

Thus, it was a surprise that the students took home 10 medals.

Commenting about the result, Vi Manh, deputy headmaster of Giang Vo Secondary School, said he was happy that Vietnamese students were in no way inferior to students from other countries.

The students are all smart and self-confident, he said.

Hoang Truong Giang from 8A17, a silver medal winner in math, said he felt confident especially when he was escorted by his father.

Giang said the math questions raised at the competition were similar to the questions Giang and his friends had solved in Vietnam. However, as the questions were in English, it took time to translate them.

“If we had had more time, we would have won gold medals,” he said.

A teacher described Tran Quy Duong, a classmate of Giang’s, as a person of “small stature, but with an iron will.”

Durong said the questions were difficult, but he won the silver medal.

Nguyen Minh Hien from the 8A16 class, a bronze medal winner in science, said he learned many things from the experience. For example, solve easy questions first and then deal with more difficult questions. Competitors also need to concentrate and be careful when experimenting.

When asked about their memories in Bali, all the team members said they would return. The island is beautiful with many pagodas, green spaces and beaches.

Duong said the people in Bali were very friendly. The team took part in a cultural exchange and meetings during which they gave gifts and souvenirs to students from other countries.

Tuong said the teachers and students of the school had achieved “big gains” from the trip.

“We learned from the way they organized the competition, and the way they raised questions. And we had the opportunity to approach the integrated teaching method,” Tuong said, adding that the school would apply the new teaching method soon.