Children’s education in modern society: adaptability and flexibility

In the 2019 – 2020 school year, the VAS school system has won a total of 469 prizes in academic subjects and aptitude at all levels, from municipal to international

COVID-19 has made the 2019-2020 academic year an unprecedented one in the world history of education. For the first time ever, students had to go on a long forced holiday and teachers had to teach and give tests online. Educational institutions were rendered passive, having to take a “wait-and-see” attitude. Therefore, the academic achievements gained by students at the end of the school year indicate tremendous efforts jointly expended by both students and their schools, as well as parents.

The school board of Vietnam Australia School (VAS) at the end of the school year ceremony shared: “The events currently unfolding on a global scale also give us new views on education, refocusing our priorities on adaptability, dynamism, and adaptation to various circumstances and all economic, political, and scientific, and technological changes. What cannot be found in textbooks can be taught only when students are equipped with a solid foundation of knowledge, values, and skills acquired during their school years and real life.”

That is also the rationale for VAS to create every year dozens of playgrounds for academic subjects, aptitude, and the environment, in addition to community activities, such as English speaking contests, robot programming, VAS’s Got Talent, VAS Olympic, and VASers for the Community.

All the activities aim to help students approach different situations in real life so as to become more mature and encourage them to engage actively in social affairs and face challenges in international competitions where they can build resilience, self-confidence, flexibility, and problem-solving skills.

14 VAS students received scholarships worth more than VND40 billion awarded by UK, US, Netherlands and Korea

Convincing results by VAS students

Regular practice and effective learning at school and in class have enabled VAS students to bag 496 prizes in international math competitions and contests, English, English Olympic, Math and Physics ViOlympic, TOEFL Junior, scientific research, scientific and practical knowledge, World Scholar’s Cup, and talent competitions hosted by the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET) and municipal departments of education and training.

In particular, 14 VAS students of grade 9 and 12 have received valuable scholarships for overseas study from prestigious universities and high schools in the US, the UK, the Netherlands, and South Korea. All the scholarships are worth over VND40 billion ($1.74 million). Tran Bach Duong, a twelfth grader of VAS Ba Thang Hai Mega Campus, won five scholarships worth about VND13.4 billion ($582,600) from five American universities (Case Western Reserve, Miami University, Augustana College, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and Lawrence University).

The Cambridge education programme, seven years into its launch at VAS, has substantially improved the academic achievements of VAS students whose average grades were higher than the averages of both Vietnam and the world.

In the 2019-2020 school year, four VAS students became “Top in Country” in IGCSE, AS, and A Level (May and June, 2020) examinations. At the grade 10 IGCSE exam, 84 per cent of VAS students scored average results from A+ to C (excellent to fair), 30 per cent of whom scored from A+ to A- (excellent to good). At the A Level examination for 12^th graders, 72 per cent of all VAS students scored average results from A+ to C in all subjects.

VAS students completed the school year with excellent results despite the interruptions caused by the pandemic

To better inspire students to study more effectively and take part in extracurricular activities conducted to support communities inside and outside of VAS, the school saves 17 scholarships worth over VND1 billion ($43,470) each year for the best students in every grade and programme. Excellent preparations for VAS students help them gain more self-confidence in entering higher education levels and building adaptability to all changes in life.