Pictured - Sarah and Eva (Year 9)

Many congratulations to Year 9 students, Eva Ng and Sarah Pepper, who discovered their results recently, having been challenged by a prestigious mathematics competition.

The maths students achieved this success in the UKMT Grey Kangaroo Challenge after excelling in the UKMT Intermediate Mathematical Challenge (IMC) at the beginning of February. The Grey Kangaroo Challenge is a 60-minute, multiple-choice competition consisting of 25 problems. Entry to the competition is by invitation only and is based on a qualifying score. Eva gained a Certificate of Qualification, whilst Sarah achieved a Certificate of Merit, which are only awarded to the top-scoring 25% of participants. The qualifying mark was 82, Sarah achieved this by scoring 85 out of a possible 125 marks, but it is pretty difficult to score near to maximum marks!

In total, 44 Year 9 and 48 Year 10 students participated in this year’s UKMT Intermediate Mathematical Challenge (IMC). The 25-question multiple-choice Mathematical Challenge aims to stimulate mathematical problem solving. It encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems.     

Mr Jeffryes (Mathematics Teacher) said: “To get a merit in this follow-on challenge is a fine achievement and I am sure that Sarah is rightly proud of her efforts.  Dealing with questions such as ‘When a jar is 1/5 filled with water, it weighs 560g.  When the same jar is 4/5 filled with water, it weighs 740g.  What is the weight of the empty jar?  Is the answer 60g, 112g, 180g, 300g or 500g?’ is no mean feat. Very well done also to Eva to for qualifying to this next round.”