At the program, the Organizing Committee honored outstanding collectives and individuals in the season, and at the same time spread the spirit of "playing but learning" of the playground for students in Ho Chi Minh City and provinces.
Attending the ceremony were Mr. Le Quoc Phong, Member of the Party Central Committee, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee; Mr. Le Van Minh, City Party Committee Member, General Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Newspaper and Radio and Television Authority; Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training; Ms. Trinh Thi Hien Tran, Deputy Secretary of the City Youth Union, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union Council, along with teachers and a large number of students.
More than 105,000 contestants participate
The Le Quy Don Award is a learning playground for primary and secondary school students, organized in the Ho Chi Minh City Children's Publishing House and Red Scarf belonging to Saigon Giai Phong Newspaper.
The 2025-2026 school year marks the 31st time of the Award on the Ho Chi Minh City Children's publication and the 27th time on the Red Scarf publication, with two rounds including preliminary rounds on the newspaper and direct finals.
In the preliminary round, more than 105,000 contestants participated with more than 1.3 million entries from primary and secondary school students from Ho Chi Minh City, Vinh Long, Tay Ninh, Da Nang... sent to the Organizing Committee. Some schools have a large number of entries such as Le Van Tho Primary School with more than 30,000 entries and Ho Van Long Secondary School with nearly 10,000 entries.
After two rounds of competition, the Organizing Committee awarded prizes to 120 excellent students, including 9 valedictorians from 9 grades.
Among the contestants, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thao is a special case when participating in the Le Quy Don Award for 3 consecutive seasons. In grade 1, she won the third prize and in grade 3 became the valedictorian.
Thanh Thao said that the exam questions of the Award are always new, forcing her to explore more, thereby being able to apply knowledge to improve her academic results. She sets a goal to continue participating in the Award until 9th grade and dreams of becoming a doctor.
Meanwhile, 7th grade valedictorian Bui Duc Tai participated in the Tournament for the first time. He said that the playground helped him both read newspapers and try his hand at interesting exam questions. Tai was impressed with the final round when he had the opportunity to express his emotions, freely create and show his talent.
Focus on experience, apply knowledge
The Le Quy Don Award was born in 1995 on Nhi Dong TPHCM newspaper, for elementary school students. In 1999, the Award was expanded to secondary school students on Khan Quang Do newspaper.
Weekly exam questions are suggestive, helping students self-study, review, train thinking, apply knowledge to reality and pay attention to current and social issues.
Meanwhile, the final round is often organized like a festival with open-ended exam questions and many experiential activities such as doing scientific experiments, watching skits about school violence, attending "book parties", taking open-top buses to visit the city or playing the role of a Liberation Army soldier.
Through these activities, students have the opportunity to access knowledge in a more vivid way, being able to go, see, hear and learn instead of just receiving numbers and letters in books.
According to Mr. Nguyen Bao Quoc, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, the Le Quy Don Award playground focuses on experiential activities, applying professional knowledge to solve practical problems, thereby sparking creativity for students.
Through the playground, students have the opportunity to show perseverance and patience in learning and research, and at the same time apply the knowledge they have learned to solve tasks associated with real life.
After more than 30 years of organization, the Le Quy Don Award has become a learning playground supported by a large number of students, schools and parents. The Award not only creates an environment for students to study and practice but also accompanies many generations of students on their development journey.
