Trần Đại Nghĩa High School for the Gifted

Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted (Vietnamese: Trường Trung học Phổ thông chuyên Trần Đại Nghĩa), commonly referred to as TDN or Trần Chuyên, is a public, co-educational specialized high school in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Established in 2000, it is operated by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education. Tran Dai Nghia was reorganized in 2024, when the formerly integrated secondary and high school was divided into two independent public schools. The school is known for its rigorous specialized programs and academic competition results, and is one of the "Big Three" in Ho Chi Minh City alongside Lê Hồng Phong High School for the Gifted and VNU-HCM High School for the Gifted. History The Institution Taberd was founded on 31 August 1874 as a Catholic missionary school in Saigon by Fr. Henri De Kerlan of the De La Salle Brothers, and was named in honor of French missionary Jean-Louis Taberd. It operated for more than a century as a prominent Catholic institution, educating generations of students before 1975 as part of a network of Western-style schools in the Republic of Vietnam. After 1975 and nationwide reforms, all La Salle schools in Vietnam, including Institution Taberd, were dissolved and requisitioned by the state. The former Taberd campus was repurposed for public education, first as a pedagogical high school, while the La Salle community that remained in Saigon established the SiViTA dormitory on the former grounds. Tran Dai Nghia High School was established on 31 March 2000 by decision of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee. The school was named after Trần Đại Nghĩa, a prominent Vietnamese military engineer and scientist for the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. In 2002, it officially became a specialized high school, offering programs in mathematics, physics, chemistry, literature, and English. Additional specializations were later introduced, including biology, computer science, history and geography. In December 2019, the original campus was designated a municipal historical and architectural heritage site by the People's Committee. In 2024, the city government approved a reorganization that separated the former integrated institution into two independent public schools: Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted and Tran Dai Nghia Secondary and High School. The specialized high school retained the founding year of 2000 and continued offering its specialized programs, while the newly established secondary and high school assumed responsibility for non-specialized lower and upper secondary education. Academics Tran Dai Nghia provides instruction aligned with Vietnam's national gifted education framework. All students participate in an accelerated English curriculum. Specialized academic subjects include: mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, literature, english, computer science, history, and geography. The school recruits students nationwide and is highly competitive, based on scores in the Ho Chi Minh City upper secondary entrance examination, with seats typically available for approximately one out of every four applicants. Prior to the 2024 reorganization, Tran Dai Nghia also administered an independent examination for lower secondary admissions, admitting 350 students from more than 4,300 applicants in recent admission cycles for an acceptance rate of 8.14%. Achievements Tran Dai Nghia High School for the Gifted has received the Third-Class Labor Order awarded by the President of Vietnam. The school frequently earns awards in Vietnam's Excellent Student Competitions. In the 2025–2026 academic year, it was ranked second among Ho Chi Minh City high schools in total national prizes. In the 2021–2022 school year, Tran Dai Nghia won four of the nine First Prizes awarded in English in the National Excellent Student Competition. In the following years, it produced two national champions in English, who ranked first nationwide in back-to-back competitions. Student life Students participate in a variety of extracurricular activities, including 22 clubs and organizations in Model United Nations, debate, robotics, arts and culture, language, environment, journalism, cinematography, photography and women's health. The school maintains an active sports culture, hosting an annual Student Sports Meet which includes competitions in basketball, football, chess, xiangqi (Chinese chess), tug-of-war, table tennis and badminton. The event is organized school-wide and draws large student participation across all grade levels each year. Notable alumni Audrey Chau, graduate of the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, 2021 recipient of the Donald E. Stokes Dean's Prize. Arlette Quỳnh Anh Trần, curator and director of the Post Vidai art collection, member of Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia. Lê Đình Hiếu, CEO of the GAP Academy, member of Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia. Lê Nguyễn Thiên Hương, founder of the Save Sơn Đoòng project, admissions and financial aid officer at Fulbright University Vietnam, member of Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia. References