Lê Hồng Phong High School for the Gifted (; formerly Petrus Ký High School) is a high school in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam. Established in 1927, the school is one of the oldest high schools still operating in Vietnam.
History
Lê Hồng Phong High School for the Gifted was the third high school founded in Saigon by French colonizers, after the Collège Chasseloup-Laubat (1874) (now Lê Quý Đôn Secondary and High School; both were one school then being split into separate secondary school and high school after 1975) and Collège de Jeunes Filles Indigènes (1915) (now Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai High School). In 1925, Architect Ernest Hebrard was commissioned to design the school in Chợ Quán.
On 28 November 1927, a temporary branch of Collège Chasseloup-Laubat, called Collège de Cochinchine, was founded in Chợ Quán for native students. The branch was under the management of the Board at Collège Chasseloup-Laubat.
The construction of the school was completed in 1928. On 11 August 1928, the interim Governor-General of French Indochina, René Robert, signed Decree no. 3116 to establish a native French secondary school (Lycée), combining Collège de Cochinchine and about 200 pupils from Collège Chasseloup Laubat. The Governor Blanchard de la Brosse named the school Lycée Petrus Trương Vĩnh Ký, in honour of Vietnamese Catholic scholar Pétrus Trương Vĩnh Ký. The school was known as Petrus Ký High School for almost a half-century.
Lycée Petrus Truong Vinh Ky, commonly referred to as Lycée Petrus, commenced the first day on October 1, 1928. The first principal was Mr. Sainte Luce Banchelin, the bureau's Mr. Boulé, the banker Mahé.
The chairman of the board was Mr. Gazano and the Vietnamese members were: Mr. Nguyen Thanh Giung, Ph.D., chemist, contract professor, Mr. Ho Bao Toan and Mr. Tran Le Quat. The officials are parents French commissioners Sainte Luce Banchelin and Mahé. The president is the Principal and the members are: John, Painting Professor, Mr. Paquier, Professor of Literature, Mr. Nguyen Van Nho, Professor of Literature, Mr. Nguyen Van Thuong, and supervisor and secretary is Mr. Boulé.
There were two levels of study: Enseignement primaire supérieur Franco-indigène (DEPSI) and French Secondary (enseignement secondaire Franco-indigène).
Petrus Ky students in French Indochina War and Vietnam War eras
In 1940, the Petrus Ký Student Club was founded. The club organised extra-curricular activities including performing arts, sports, camping, attracting students from within and outside Petrus Ký. It was during this time that the students Lưu Hữu Phước and (later ambassador) wrote "La Marche des Étudiants" song, the predecessor of the patriotic "Tiếng Gọi Thanh Niên (Call to the Young)", "Tiếng Gọi Công Dân (Call to the Citizens)" and "Quốc Ca của Việt Nam Cộng Hòa (The National Anthem of the Republic of Vietnam, National anthem of South Vietnam)".Đình Hoà Nguyêñ from the city inside the Red River: a cultural memoir 1999 - Page 100 "This "renovated music" overflowing with sentimentalism and nostalgic reminiscences soon evolved into vigorous and lively works that expressed less and less romance and languor. Lưu Hữu Phước, Mai Văn Bộ and Nguyễn-Thành Nguyên, the three medical students... Lưu Hữu Phước who wrote the lively music, was a prominent cultural figure."Robert Trando Letters of a Vietnamese Émigré 2010 Page 32 "In a corner, the piano-violin duo of Nguyễn-Trọng Thường and Đỗ-Thế Phiệt gave a rich recital of Bach, Schubert, and Strauss. The Cochin-Chinese musicians, Lưu-Hữu Phước, Mai-Văn Bộ, and Nguyễn-Thành Nguyên, composed patriotic .."
Within a year, the club and its activities were prohibited by the French-Indochina government. In 1941, the school was temporarily relocated to the Pedagogical College of Saigon due to the French Indochina war. It resumed its regular teaching activities in the same year, at its own establishment.
In 1942, Petrus Ký students, inspired by students in Hanoi, founded an organisation named S.E.T. (Section Exécution Tourisme). The organisation functioned as a scout programme aiming at developing character, citizenship, and personal fitness qualities. During this time, several Petrus Ký professors such as Phạm Thiều, Lê Văn Chí and Trần Văn Thanh, also subtly professed their patriotism in lectures. In 1945, the school was temporarily closed after evacuating to Tan Dinh school district. It re-opened in April 1946 in a seminary on Lucien Mossard street. It returned to Chợ Quán in the year 1947.
In 1961, it became a secondary school in the Southern Vietnamese educational system. In 1976, the school was renamed after a former general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Lê Hồng Phong, and became a high school. In 1990, it was renamed to Lê Hồng Phong High School for the Gifted.
Institution
Lê Hồng Phong, together with High School for the Gifted (Phổ thông Năng khiếu) and Trần Đại Nghĩa High School, make up the Big 3 of "Highly selective" schools (trường chuyên) in Ho Chi Minh City and in Southern Vietnam, having achieved significant numbers of awards in both domestic and international academic competitions.
Recognitions In 2007, the school was awarded the 1st Level Labour Medal by the President of Vietnam.Thanh Nien Online
Staff The school has 20 departments whose staff bear different responsibilities of teaching and operating the institution.
Academic reputation In 2018, the school admitted fewer than 500 students. through the annual year-10 academic entrance examination.
National Excellent Student Contest
School year 2024-2025
According to the Ranking of High schools in the 2024-2025 National Excellent Student Contest announced by the Ministry of Education and Training, the school ranked first with 109 awards. This included 2 first prizes (with one valedictorian in Literature), 27 second prizes, 34 third prizes and 46 consolidation prizes. School year 2025-2026
The school achieved a total of 153 awards, specifically 5 first prizes, 44 second prizes, 39 third prizes, and 65 consolation prizes. This accounted for more than half of the total awards in Ho Chi Minh City, and also set a record as the high school with the most students winning National awards in 2025-2026.
Principals School year Principal 1927–1929 Sainte Luce Banchelin 1929–1931 Paul Valencot 1931–1933 Andre Neveu 1933–1938 Paul Valencot 1938–1944 Le Jeannic 1944–1947 Taillade 1947–1951 Lê Văn Khiêm 1951–1955 Phạm Văn Còn 1955–1957 Nguyễn Văn Kính 1957–1958 Nguyễn Văn Thơ 1958–1960 Nguyễn Văn Trương 1960–1963 Phạm Văn Lược 1963–1964 Nguyễn Thanh Liêm 1964–1966 Trần Ngọc Thái 1966–1969 Trần Văn Thử 1969–1971 Trần Ngọc Thái 1971-1971 Trần Văn Nhơn 1971–1973 Bùi Vĩnh Lập 1973–1975 Nguyễn Minh Đức 1975–1977 Nguyễn Văn Thiện 1977–1991 La Thị Hạnh 1991–1997 Nguyễn Hữu Danh 1997–2005 Đặng Thanh Châu 2005–2013 Võ Anh Dũng2014–2019Nguyễn Thị Yến Trinh 2019–presentPhạm Thị Bé Hiền
Notable alumni Trần Đại Nghĩa, military scientist, ingénieur, inventor , political activist Huỳnh Tấn Phát
Trương Tấn Sang, seventh president of Vietnam Nguyễn Minh Triết, sixth president of Vietnam Nguyễn Thái Bình, anti-Vietnam war activist in United States Nguyễn Tiến Trung Trần Ngọc Liễng - lawyer Trần Văn Khê, Honorary Member of the International Music Council of UNESCO, director of research at CNRS and professor at the Sorbonne
Lưu Hữu Phước, recipient of the Hồ Chí Minh Prize in 1996
Cẩm Ly, pop singer in Vietnam war era
Hà Anh Tuấn, popular R&B singer Tóc Tiên Uyên Linh, winner of the third season of Vietnam Idol in 2010
References
External links (in Vietnamese) Tuyển sinh trường THPT Chuyên Lê Hồng Phong TPHCM (in Vietnamese)