St Swithun’s students succeed in national mathematics competition

16 Aug 2019

Three students from St Swithun’s school, Winchester, have been celebrating their recent successes in national mathematics competitions. The girls completed Olympiad-style examination papers set for the best young mathematicians in the country.

16 year old Michelle Ng sat the Mathematical Olympiad for girls: an examination open to school-aged female students. Despite competing against mathematicians up to three years older than her, Michelle was placed in the top 100 in the country.

Both Katie Zhang, 15, and Magdalena Beil Harvey, 13, sat the Olympiad papers for boys and girls from their respective year groups and they were both placed in the top 50 nationally.

Head of mathematics at St Swithun’s, Stephen Power, said “These examinations contain fiendishly difficult mathematical questions where finding the answer is only the beginning. Students also need to give mathematically rigorous explanations as to how they arrive at their answers. It never ceases to amaze me how talented and enthusiastic our students are. I hope their success inspires others to aim high in this wonderful subject.”

Photo: St Swithun’s students Magdalena, Katie and Michelle celebrate their success.