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YOUNG maths masters have been adding up their achievements this week after entering an international competition and putting their skills to the test.
The UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) is a registered charity whose aim is to advance the education of children and young people in mathematics.
“I’m always impressed with the enthusiasm of students at St Christopher’s who want to take part in this,” said Ross Bonar, head of mathematics. “The average score of the students is consistently higher than the UK average which is impressive since schools in the UK will also be highly-selective in who can enter.
“Just being chosen to represent the school is something to be proud of but gaining a certificate is a great demonstration of a student’s innate abilities in maths.”
The kingdom’s St Christopher’s School has entered all competitions since 2003 and the clever ones clinching certificates may find the achievement valuable by adding it to their CVs when applying to universities.
“One certificate can make the difference if all else is equal between several candidates,” Mr Bonar explained. “Many students enjoy these competitions because it approaches problem-solving in a different way from the standard maths curriculum.”
UKMT organises challenges and other mathematical enrichment activities for 11- to 18-year-old UK school pupils. Established in 1996, in the last academic year more than 600,000 pupils from 4,000 schools took part in the three individual challenges, which also attracts entries from British curriculum international schools, making it the UK’s biggest maths competition.
Students are chosen after first sitting a mock examination and the highest scorers take the actual challenge. The 176 Sr Chris students from Year 7, aged 11-12, and 176 from Year 8, aged 12-13, was narrowed down to 62 with 40 of those representing the older year group.
The students sat a paper with 25 questions and no calculators or measuring instruments were allowed. They had one hour to complete the task. Papers were then sent back to The University of Leeds who run the event.
The Gold, Silver and Bronze certificates are awarded by the UK Maths Challenge on the basis of their grade boundaries. The top 40 per cent of students received a gold, silver or bronze certificate in the ratio 1:2:3.
It’s worth noting that the top 40 per cent of the students entered is 40 per cent of an already highly-selected group.
Top scoring student from St Christopher’s this year was Athena Puri in Year 8. She obtained a Gold + Best in Year + Best in School. The top scoring student in Year 7 was Talal Alkhawaja who achieved Gold + Best in Year.
“Congratulations to all certificate winners,” said Mr Bonar. “Keep practicing and build up a collection of certificates to impress universities and employers.
“As the UK Maths Challenge states, mathematics controls more aspects of the modern world than most people realise – from iPhones, cash machines to airline booking systems. In the last 50 years maths has transformed the way we live.”
l Here are some of the questions the children faced. Readers can put their maths prowess to the test. Check your answers in TimeOut on Page 18.
1.) The result of the calculation 123456789 x 8 is almost the same as 987654321 except that 2 of the digits are in a different order. What is the sum of these 2 digits?
(remember no calculators)
A 3; B 7; C 9; D 15; E 17
2.) Knave of Hearts: I stole the tarts
Knave of Clubs: The Knave of hearts is lying
Knave of Diamonds: The Knave of Clubs is lying
Knave of Spades: The Knave of Diamonds is lying
How many of the four knaves were telling the truth?
A 1; B 2; C 3; D4; E more information needed
3.) A palindromic number is a number that reads the same when the order of its digits is reversed. What is the difference between the largest and smallest five digit palindromic numbers that are both multiples of 45?
A 9180; B 9090; C 9000; D 8910; E 8190
(Answers on Page 18)
