ESSAY WRITING FOR GIFTED STS

TOPIC 13: Write about the formal school education system in Vietnam.
The current formal school education system in Vietnam, as we all know, consists of three levels; pre-school, primary and secondary educations. Secondary education is divided into lower and upper stage. Now, in some provinces especially in cities, there are two parallel school systems in pre-school, primary or even secondary education; state and private schools. Tuition fees are different very much from state to private schools. In both systems, the academic year, from early September to late May, is divided into two semesters consisting of four to five months each.
Children usually start their pre-school at the age of three, when they go to the nurseries but this stage is not compulsory. When childrean reach the age of six, they must go to primary schools. The primary education lasts five years with 5 grades; from grade 1 to grade 5. After having finished primary education, children can go to lower secondary schools from grade 6 to grade 9. Children who complete lower secondary may be accepted to upper secondary schools which last three years with 3 grades; ten to twelve. It depends on the locality that children have to take the entrance examination to be upper secondary students. Children finish the school education when they finish grade 12. Often, at the end of upper secondary education, student have to take the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), the requirement to go to university or college, The GCSE used to take place in early June, but this year in early July.