SPS Mathematics Blog

To put a cap on a brilliant first term of MathsSoc, Yidong came up with a fantastic Christmas Quiz including a greatly enjoyed maths race. Adrenaline was flowing throughout this speed-based event, and while the difference was only made up of a few points, Team 1 (a name they accurately picked for themselves) took home a well-deserved win and a mountain of chocolates. A big thank you goes out to Yidong for entertaining us with this quiz, as well as all the people that have helped run and organise MathsSoc this term. It has been absolutely incredible, and I hope to see everyone there in 2026. -  Arié

It was another successful year for the students who qualified for the British Mathematical Olympiad Round 1 (BMO1). Of the 85 students who took part, 35 received merits, 25 received distinctions, and 7 students qualified for BMO2. Having 7 students qualify for BMO2 is a fantastic achievement, especially given that only around 100–120 students nationwide reach this stage each year. This is also the highest number of merits and distinctions the school has ever attained in BMO1. Well done to all the students who took part — your hard work is truly paying off! Here is a selection of questions from the six problems on the BMO1 2025 paper, courtesy of UKMT. The full paper and mark scheme are available here :

SPS held a maths partnership event with a variety of the partnership schools in the local area. The event included a series of UKMT Team Challenge problems where groups were composed of one student from each school. The event kicked off with a 10 question quick fire quiz, followed up by a maths crossword, called the crossnumber. The event finished with a unique maths relay, in which each group was split in half and the teams competed in finishing a 20 question quiz, where the questions had to be completed sequentially with one half doing odd numbered questions and the other half doing the even ones.  There were two competitions those with 3 team members and those with 4. The scores were very tight and so huge congratulations to the winning team in both category. The top team was outstanding, almost scoring almost full marks. Overall, it was a great day where everyone enjoyed themselves and had their fill of maths. - Shorta