Success for mathematicians

A team of QE boys has won the Heard-Collins Plate in the prestigious Hans Woyda Mathematics Competition.

The competition is an invitation-only event involving 64 teams representing leading state and independent schools from across the South East; it is the first time the School has won the Plate since 2002.

Bhavik Mehta, of Year 13, Yash Patel, of Year 12, Nitharsan Sathiyalingham, of Year 11, and Year 9 boy Ben Suen qualified for the knockout stages in the Plate by finishing as runners-up in their group in the opening round.

In the knockout phase of the Plate, they beat Watford Grammar School for Boys before an epic semi-final against North London Collegiate School, which they won 46-42. “Two tie-break rounds were required to separate the teams,” said Maths teacher Geoff Roberts. “An excellent team performance led to victory in the Plate final against Forest School by 44 points to 34.”

“Intellectually, this is a highly demanding competition; to be successful, boys have to be adept at applying a wide range of mathematical skills under time pressure, as well as adapting to a variety of different round formats,” added Mr Roberts.

“In some of the rounds, the boys achieved the highest score of all 64 schools competing, which is highly gratifying. Especially pleasing is the fact that we are one of very few state schools to have won the Plate.”