Four QE mathematicians took second place in the final of a national competition – out of 313 teams entering from across the country.
The Year 9 boys reached the top 20 teams that were invited to the final of the Edge Hill University Mathematics Challenge by successfully progressing through two earlier rounds.
In the final at the university’s Ormskirk campus in Lancashire, they were praised by the judges for their precise use of mathematical language and awarded the competition’s Newton prize, only to be pipped for the top spot by another school making the trip from north London, the Jewish Free School (JFS).
QE Mathematics teacher, Phillip Brady, said: “This was a fine performance by these boys and it certainly made the journey worthwhile.”
The QE team was: Sunay Challa, Deshraam Ganeshamoorthy, Anshul Sajip and James Tan. Each of them won a £30 gift voucher.
Organised by the university’s Faculty of Education, the long-running competition provides pupils with the opportunity to tackle engaging mathematical activities, while developing teamwork and communication skills. It also aims to encourage children and schools to think about ways of integrating ICT within Mathematics and of developing problem-solving skills.
In the first two rounds, teams had to produce posters showing solutions to a given problem, while in the final, teams presented their solution to a panel of three judges.
“After an early start, the long train journey to Preston was spent putting the final touches to the presentation,” said Mr Brady. “Some slides were taken out; others were corrected. On arrival, the team had a further 40 minutes to prepare. Once they had finished their presentation, they relaxed during the lunch break by following a maths puzzle trail which took them around the site.”
Sunay said: “I enjoyed presenting the programme to the judges. It was a wonderful day.” And James added that he had also greatly enjoyed the puzzle trail.