Super six shine in maths challenge

Six of Winstanley College’s most proficient and enthusiastic mathematicians took part in the British Maths Olympiad; a national competition which is marketed as "not for the faint-hearted" due to its difficult nature.

Ellie Louvain-Walters, Maria Smithson, Lucy George, Alice Morgan, Emily Unsworth and Eliza Piskor entered The Mathematical Olympiad for Girls which is aimed at encouraging girls to tackle advanced mathematical problems and consists of 5 paper-based questions to be completed over 2.5 hours.

All students performed admirably with three of them achieving a certificate of Merit and three achieving a certificate of Distinction. Of those who achieved a Distinction, Maria Smithson, now qualifies for the British Mathematical Olympiad Round 1 which is exclusively for the highest attaining students in the country.

Maths teacher, Nathan Cooper, commented: ‘A particularly high level of skill and thinking is required to complete the Olympiad challenge. For the six students who entered all to receive certificates is a remarkable achievement. Maria has really excelled in the competition, and we look forward to seeing how she performs in the next, even higher level, round!