The school’s top mathematicians have been celebrating after achieving 14 gold awards in this year’s UKMT Senior Maths Challenge, with two boys qualifying for the British Maths Olympiad.
Each year, around 700,000 pupils from across the UK take part in the Junior, Intermediate and Senior UKMT Maths Challenges. All challenges are aimed at the top student mathematicians in the country, meaning the field of participants is already very strong.
The first round of the competition is indeed challenging, primarily aimed at Sixth Form students. However, the questions are designed to be solvable using logical thinking and a basic understanding of trigonometry, geometry and sequences, rather than advanced mathematical methods such as Number Theory.
Upper Sixth Former Kevin Xu explained, “Personally, the aspect I enjoyed most about the competition was the problem-solving process during the exam. It required focus and allowed me to apply my mathematical knowledge practically.”
As well as being challenged mathematically, boys also learned how to manage their time effectively, wasting as little time as possible.
The top 25% of participants received a bronze award, top 16% silver and the top 8-9% gold.
Boys achieving over 80 points qualified for the Andrew Jobbings Senior Kangaroo, while students who achieved over 106 points qualified for the British Mathematical Olympiad, which is held on the same day as the Kangaroo and is 3.5 hours long.
Both rounds took place earlier this week, with results due in around two weeks’ time.