CALCULATING pupils from Lawrence Sheriff School are top of the maths class.
The team of Ittu Phago, Leo Siby, Pritesh Mistry and Adam Marlow were crowned secondary school winners of the National Young Mathematicians Award.
Using teamwork, initiative and mathematical prowess, the Year 8 students saw off four other finalists – having defeated hundreds of other schools in the first two rounds of the competition in November and December – to take victory in the final, held at the University of Cambridge.
Adam said: “The competition was a really good experience and challenged our team a lot. It allowed our team to improve our maths skills and our problem solving.
“Overall, the competition was very exciting and gave me a chance to connect with my teammates and improve our communication skills.”
Teammate Ittu added: “This was a very different experience as I had to work with my team to compete against the other teams.
“While competing, the pressure was high with surrounding examiners watching our work. However I was able to cope with the stress and help my team to succeed.”
The team’s maths teacher Varun Garg said he was very proud to see his pupils presented with their trophies and prizes by TV mathematician, writer and journalist Bobby Seagull.
He said: “The school is immensely proud of the team. They are very competitive and have channelled this into the competition.
“They are confident in their mathematical ability. However, they have improved a great deal on their teamwork skills. We are looking at training harder for next year – hopefully we can win again.”
Lawrence Sheriff head teacher Dr Peter Kent said: “I would like to congratulate Adam, Pritesh, Ittu and Leo. This is a wonderful achievement and we are very proud of them.”
The competition was organised by Explore Learning which provides maths and English tuition for four to 14 year-olds.
