Polly Chen, Year 12, and Evelyn Yu, Year 13, were entered on behalf of Rendcomb College in the competition and they had to tacke five complex mathematical problems in the space of two and a half hours. Each question required justification of their results with their methods clearly explained.

The competition played host to over 1700 of the best female mathematicians in Years 12 and 13 across the UK.

Evelyn’s result placed her in the top 25% and earned her a Certificate of Distinction while Polly’s result placed her in the top 10% of the best 200 female A Level mathematicians currently studying in the UK.

Head of Mathematics, Stephen Clarke, was full of praise for the girls saying: “Their results place them among some of the elite female mathematicians in the country for their age. Huge congratulations are in order for such an impressive achievement by both students.”

The Mathematical Olympiad for Girls is aimed at pupils in Year 11 and above and looks to inspire girls to tackle advanced mathematical problem solving and serves as a showcase for selection into the UK team for the International Mathematical Olympiad competition.

Maths at Rendcomb College

The Maths department at Rendcomb College teaches pupils to recognise the importance of maths in their own lives and in society. It also enables pupils to develop knowledge, skills and an understanding of mathematical methods and concepts while developing their problem solving abilities. The Department teaches pupils to select and apply mathematical techniques and methods in everyday and real-world situations.

Further Maths A Level is also available to students providing a challenge and a chance to explore new and more sophisticated concepts and applications such as matrices and complex numbers that are important for many STEM degrees.