British Maths Olympiad 2024/5 (BMO 1 & BMO 2)

The British Maths Olympiad (BMO) comprises of two rounds, the BMO1 and BMO2. Qualification for the BMO1 is determined by attaining at least 110 out of 125 in the Senior Maths Challenge. St Paul's entered 95 students into the BMO1, of which 34 attained merits and 19 distinctions. Further to this, 5 students qualified for the BMO2. Approximately 100 of the top students in the country sit the BMO2 so qualification in itself is quite the achievement.

Of the 5 that completed the BMO2, 4 students achieved distinctions Rishab (29/40), Michael (34/40), Adavya (40/40) and Aman (22/40).

Adavya and Michael have been invited to the UKMT BMO Training Camp at Trinity College, Cambridge over the Easter holidays, where they will undergo intensive training and testing, after which the British team for the IMO will be selected. Congratulations to Adavya for achieving a remarkable complete set of
full marks in SMC, BMO1 and BMO2 this year.

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 r eflected 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 altogether, 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 but very manageable after explanation. Among the problems were a complex simultaneou...

Hans Woyda Final vs King's College School Wimbledon

Yesterday, six months after kicking off the 2024-25 Hans Woyda season with our annual friendly against SPGS, we were at long last on our way to the final. There was a palpable tension around the school site and an unmistakable atmosphere of excitement and anticipation, making it abundantly clear that the entire school had their minds on that afternoon’s Mathematics fixture. As I set off for the match with Yidong (4 th ), Shyamak (6 th ), Adavya (L8 th ), and Eason (U8 th ), accompanied by Dr Stoyanov for moral support and intimidation, pupils and staff had even gathered by the towpath to wish them well; unfortunately, they all seemed to be facing the wrong direction, but it was touching nevertheless. We made our way to the City of London School (which offered its services as neutral territory for the final), discussing tactics on the tube and working through a set of warm-up questions. We met the King’s College School Wimbledon side in the lobby as we arrived, and based on previou...

SPS Mathematics Blog