Maths Olympiad success 2024

A huge congratulation to all our talented mathematicians in the recent Mathematics Olympiads.

Those who achieved a merit in the Olympiads, placed them in the top 50% nationally.

The top 25% are awarded a Distinction.

The top 100 nationally are awarded a meal: well done to Alan and Enoch for being awarded bronze medals, and a special shoutout to William Zhou for clinching a gold medal!

William's achievement is remarkable as he's placed in the top 20 mathematicians nationally in his age group, and he's only in year 8!

We're thrilled to announce the outstanding achievements of our pupils in the Maths Olympiads below in detail:

• Cayley (Year 9 and below)
• Merit: Kingsley, Aadam
• Bronze Medal: Alan
• Gold Medal: William (Top 20 nationally!) and only in year 8
• Hamilton (Year 10)
• Merit: Jayden
• Distinction: Alan, Aska
• Maclaurin (Year 11)
• Merit: Jian, Beyazid
• Distinction: Sri, Enoch

Year 8 pupil William said: “I was over the moon upon receiving an email from Mrs Allinson, informing me that I had earned a Gold medal in the Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad. To be in the top 20 nation-wide is a true privilege, but it would have been an impossible feat for me to have accomplished without the help and support from Dr Graham, Dr Lawley, and Mr Davies, and the whole of the Mathematics department, and especially Mrs Allinson who helped me hugely with mentoring sessions! Compared to the Intermediate Mathematical Challenge (the precursor to the Olympiad) with 25 multiple-choice questions, the Olympiad offers more challenge, as, although consisting of only 6 questions, it requires complete, presentable working and much more ingenuity to efficiently find solutions. Some questions require knowledge outside of the school curriculum. However, Olympiad questions are designed to integrate mathematical thinking and logical processes rather than turning one into a human calculator”!

He added: “I find Olympiad questions engaging, as they stretch one to think, rather than purely to compute. Many of the questions can be solved in a multitude of different ways, some leading to a shorter route than others to the answer. With the need for fully worked solutions, finding a good method can be key to solving these questions, and I find that coming across a neat and concise explanation comes with great satisfaction! The Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad experience is one that encourages you to reach your very limit in mathematics. In preparing and sitting an Olympiad, you can learn how to write clear, cohesive proofs and use unique methods to tackle questions otherwise seemingly impossible, and I highly recommend the experience to anyone interested in maths!”

Well done to all our students for their exceptional performances!