This year’s Junior Maths Challenge brought both group and individual success, with the number of pupils taking gold breaking the 200 barrier and one boy winning the Best in School accolade for the second year running.
All boys from Years 7 and 8 took part in the UK Mathematics Trust competition and 202 of them were awarded gold certificates – a sharp increase on the last two years’ figures of 154 and 174.
A further 118 boys took silver and 34 won bronze, which means that in total, 354 boys, or 92% of the QE entrants, received gold, silver or bronze. Across the country, only the top 40% of entrants receive these certificates, which are awarded in the ratio 1:2:3.
Year 8’s Maxwell Johnson’s score of 130 out of a possible 135 won him the Best in School title for the second time, while Kovid Gothi was Best in Year 7, with 128. “I am very happy to have matched my score from last year. The only thing in the way now is the Olympiad!” said Maxwell, while Kovid said simply that he was “overjoyed” at his score.
Twenty high-fliers have qualified for the Junior Maths Olympiad and a further 115 won places in the Challenge’s other follow-on round, the Junior Kangaroo.
Assistant Head of Mathematics Wendy Fung said: “We are delighted with how well the boys have done and look forward to the results of the Olympiad and Kangaroo. Much of the success stems from the excellent guidance and help given to Year 8 at our Élite Maths (Junior) sessions by the Year 10 and 11 mentors: we are very grateful to the mentors for giving up their time and passing on their wisdom.”