Tran Viet Hoang achieved the highest primary-level Mathematics score in the world in the English-language iPrimary certification examination in 2025.
His result was announced by David Albon, Director of International Programmes and Qualifications at Pearson (UK), during the Pearson Edexcel International Certificate Award Ceremony for students of the Integrated Program in Ho Chi Minh City on the morning of March 21.
This marks the fifth consecutive year that a Vietnamese student has attained the world’s highest primary-level Mathematics score in the Pearson Edexcel examinations. The candidate’s exact score was not disclosed.
Viet Hoang is currently a Grade 6 student at Tran Dai Nghia Secondary and High School. He shared that during the examination at the end of May 2025, he completed all 30 Mathematics questions within 45 minutes. In the remaining 15 minutes, he carefully reviewed his work five times before submitting.
“After finishing, I was confident that I had not made any mistakes,” Hoang said.
The Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, along with representatives of the Pearson Edexcel Examination Board and EMG Education Group, presented an award to Tran Viet Hoang for achieving the world’s highest primary-level Mathematics score.
Hoang said he has had a natural affinity for numbers since an early age. At the age of three, he was introduced by his father to math puzzles and basic arithmetic operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.
During primary school, in addition to regular classes, Hoang attended Mathematics lessons taught in English by native-speaking teachers through the Integrated Program. According to him, learning Mathematics in English helped broaden his thinking and expand his vocabulary. This also gave him an advantage in passing the entrance examination to Tran Dai Nghia Secondary and High School.
Hoang often makes use of class time to complete most of his assignments. For more challenging problems, he seeks guidance from his parents or teachers. After school, he spends most of his time playing chess, reading books, or watching Doraemon to develop his reasoning skills. He shared that he plays at least three chess games daily and has collected 103 books.
His mother, Tran Thi Thiep, said her son is curious about everything and constantly asks countless “why” questions. Hoang also often corrects her English pronunciation during conversations.
“We rarely speak English at home. But whenever I talk to foreigners, he points out my mistakes and shows me how to pronounce correctly,” she said.
The Integrated English Program has been implemented in Ho Chi Minh City since 2014. Students follow the Vietnamese national curriculum alongside an additional 8 to 15 periods per week with foreign teachers in Mathematics, English, and Science. The program’s expected outcomes are Pearson Edexcel certifications: iPrimary (primary), iLowerSecondary (lower secondary), and International GCSE (upper secondary).
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, in last year’s certification examinations across all three levels, 100% of students passed Mathematics. Science results were on par with or higher than global averages.
At the upper secondary level, 30% of students achieved perfect scores (9/9) in Mathematics. The proportion of students attaining Distinction (7–9 points) reached 85%, significantly higher than the global average of 55%. In English, all students achieved Merit or Distinction.
Nguyen Van Hieu, Director of the Department of Education and Training, noted that students’ confident and effective use of English is one of the highlights of Ho Chi Minh City’s education. Through the Integrated Program, students also develop academic thinking, soft skills, and international integration capacity.
He added that the program will soon be expanded to former Binh Duong and Ba Ria–Vung Tau areas to narrow regional gaps and realize the goal of making English a second language in schools.
VnExpress
