Sum of success in competitive mathematics

01 Nov 2024

In an impressive list of achievements, JJ Wada has gained a Bronze Award in the Maths Olympiad, High Distinction in the international KSF and the Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC), and Distinction in the Otago Mathematics Competition.

In total, nine College boys in Years 9–11 have achieved excellent results in a trio of challenging mathematics competitions. Year 9 students Joshua Padayachee, Tim Zhao, and Nitin Keswani (AMC High Distinction), along with Year 10 problem solvers Tony Lu, Felix Liu, and Tom Kerr, and Year 11 students Ericsson Ye and Paddy Newton have also gained Distinction across multiple competitions.

Assistant Head of Department – Mathematics & Statistics Dr Neil de Joux is thrilled with the results, praising all the boys for their focus and determination, and also acknowledging JJ’s Olympiad success.

“These are all high-level and challenging competitions,” Dr de Joux explains. “The Kangourou sans Frontières (KSF) is the largest maths competition in the world, with more than 6 million participants each year. The boys have also stepped up for the Australian Mathematics Competition and the University of Otago Junior Mathematics Competition. These competitions push their mathematical skills and logical reasoning.

“With about 150 College boys competing in each of these competitions in 2024, it is one of our biggest years for entries. Achieving Distinction means that a student ranks within at least the top 20% for their age group, while High Distinction means that a student is in the top 3%.”

JJ Wada’s Bronze Award in the Maths Olympiad places the Year 11 student in the top 50 in New Zealand for all age groups, and in the top 10 to 15 students for his year group.

“JJ’s result in the Olympiad is phenomenal, placing him in the top group in the country,” Dr de Joux says. “The Maths Olympiad is a very difficult competition, with only a small percentage of students invited to take part in the second round. The questions are not Calculus based, but rather designed to stretch a student’s mathematics skills, logic, and abstract thinking. JJ has shown a strong ability to frame everyday problems mathematically and solve them in novel ways, which is why he has achieved so highly.

“We are proud of the effort that he has put into developing his mathematics skills over the last few years, and hope that his success inspires some of our younger students to attempt the Olympiad in the future.”

For JJ, “the Otago competition and the Maths Olympiad have been the most enjoyable challenges, providing the opportunity to share your thinking and dive deeper into finding the solutions”.

“Maths is definitely my favourite subject, and has been for many years,” he says. “I plan to undertake university study in a Mathematics-related field, and I use these competitions to further enhance my skills. I hope to win a place at the Maths Olympiad camp in the coming years and represent New Zealand on the international stage.”

You can take on the Olympiad questions challenge here and find the solutions here.