The Senior Maths Challenge (SMC)

On the first of October, SPS sat the highly anticipated senior maths challenge, with years 10-13 competing, staggered throughout the day. The paper lasted for 90 minutes and consisted of 25 questions, that gradually increased in complexity as students progressed. Each competitor started with 25 points; gaining 4 points for every correct answer; and losing 1 point for every wrong answer. Unanswered questions carried no penalty.

It was an intellectually stimulating paper, with questions both at the start and end found hard by many students. Students need to score around 80 marks for a gold certificate, and 105 marks to qualify for the next round - the prestigious British Mathematical Olympiad.

“Even before the challenge, you could see the corridors alive with conversation about the SMC/the average boundaries of previous years. I had a lovely conversation with Ruben and Neel before the start, it was clear that they had prepared well and today was all about the Maths Challenge.

As an invigilator I witness the whole thing; the rushed scribbles, the delicate care of shading the answer box and the sheer brilliance/efficiency of some of the students answers. It’s almost a shame that the UKMT don’t take in the method, as they’re missing out. Regardless of whether each student qualifies for the Maths Olympiad, I look forwards to the results in mid-November and discussing these with my classes.”

- Mr D Druce

The Maths Society also interviewed a selection of pupils that took the SMC, gaining insight into how they prepared, what their favourite question was, and which question threw them off.

To see previous results, visit our results page on the school website.

The Hans Woyda Trials

The Hans Woyda Maths competition is a London based interschool challenge. A big difference to other competitions is that it is a vertical year group team containing a Fourth, Sixth, Lower and Upper Eighth student (Years 9, 11, 12 & 13). The Hans Woyda’s main focus is speed, with seven sections of fast-paced questions. For instance, in the first section students only have 30 seconds to give their answers, and in the last section the first student to answer correctly gets all the points! The trials took place over multiple mornings and lunch breaks and students had to complete a time pressured test in order to claim a place in the St Paul’s squad. The top 3 students of each year group will each compete in one of the group matches of the Hans Woyda competition and will challenge other schools for the illustrious trophy. Here is a selection of some of the questions:

Problem Solving with Mykhailo

The maths society had the pleasure of welcoming one of our own, Mykhailo who presented a captivating talk on problem solving in mathematics. He began by telling us of his journey through mathematics, starting in Ukraine at the humble age of 7, where he agreed to compete in his first Olympiad in return for some Lego - a worthy reward. By the age of 11, however, he began to lose interest, until a remarkable geometry teacher reignited his passion. From that point on he was completely hooked on geometry, so much so that his Olympiad scores reflected his singular focus: 0/7, 0/7, 0/7, and finally, 7/7, as he excelled in geometry alone. He therefore decided that it would be best for his progress if he stopped doing geometry all together, focusing instead on the other 3 areas of math: Algebra, Arithmetic, and Number theory. He led us through a series of questions, seemingly impossible at the face of it, however, very manageable after explanation. Among the problems were a complex simult...

Preparation for the Senior Maths Challenge

With the Senior Maths Challenge (SMC) a week away, 8 th form students are preparing at the Senior Problem-Solving Club. The Senior Problem-Solving club is a lunch time activity where students work through a mix of interesting and stretching questions. The focus this week was on the hard final question on the paper with Dr Hemery and Mr Morris providing the last 20 years of question 25. Here is an example: As the final and typically the most demanding question of the SMC, it provided an excellent test for even some of SPS’s best problem solvers.

SPS Mathematics Blog