The Faculty of Mathematics, ICT & Computer Science

The Faculty has continued to thrive in its significant achievements on both the academic and extracurricular fronts. There have been new teaching courses introduced plus a new national final reached. Students continue to develop their considerable mathematical plus problem-solving skills within both the classroom setting plus extracurricular clubs and competitions. The culmination of these efforts is a significant number of students embarking upon mathematics or mathematics related degrees.

A record number of Year 13 students completed both the A2 Mathematics and the A2 Further Mathematics course, achieving yet another outstanding set of results. Almost 80% of entries were at A* or A grade with fortynine students achieving these grades on the demanding Further Mathematics qualification. This is possibly the highest number for any school nationally and a testament to the dedication, teaching and learning by students and staff. In addition, two students achieved very creditable results in the STEP papers.

In Year 12, results for an amazingly large cohort of 169 mathematicians were comparable with the previous years’ excellent results. On the Mathematics front, well over a three quarters achieved at least an A grade score with over half of these being high enough to suggest the student is on course for an A* grade at A2. The truly outstanding results were achieved by the 100 Further Mathematicians in this year where 94% achieved an A or B grade for their Further Mathematics AS, well above any previous level achieved. These results reflect the effective advice upon the part of the staff plus wisdom upon the part of students as to their appropriate level of mathematical study. St Olave’s continues to have a amazing number of students studying Mathematics beyond the standard level and the prospects are that the incoming Year 12 will maintain and quite possibly further this growing tradition.

Our Year 11 students were the first set of Olavians to undertake the Edexcel Mathematics IGCSE qualification as this is deemed to be a slightly more effective preparation for higher level mathematical study. Results were awaited with slight trepidation by staff, but we need not have worried as the students rose to the challenge, achieving our equal highest ever proportion of A* at almost 85%. The top sets continue to study courses beyond the IGCSE with, for the first time, both the top two sets sitting the Free Standing Unit in Additional Mathematics. Very creditable results were achieved by both sets, giving them useful insights of concepts for their future mathematical studies.

Students in years below have continued to be enthusiastically involved in clubs, national mathematics challenges plus team competitions, mathematics clinics, the buddy system and mathematics activity days plus team competitions. All of these have hopefully developed their skills plus passion for mathematical progress and development in future years.

As ever, all Olavian students have at least two opportunities to sit each of the national Junior, Intermediate and Senior Mathematical Challenges with impressive results being achieved in each plus significant numbers qualifying for the further Olympiad and Kangaroo rounds. The problem-solving nature of the competitions complement well the more didactic nature of much of the public examination qualifications and hence represent an important component in ensuring students develop into rounded mathematicians, especially as there is a desire to develop the problem-solving component of public examinations.

In Computing, Dr Onifade has overseen the first cohort of students to undertake the Computing GCSE course with very encouraging results achieved as they achieved an A*/A proportion directly in line with the school average. In addition, the AS ICT students’ results were sound. Despite a large number of Year 8 students displaying the Olavian trait of leaving task completion until the last minute, a very high proportion of the year completed successfully the well-respected ITQ. The department is looking forward to introducing at Key Stage 3 a course more focused upon Computing rather than IT over the coming years.

At the end of the year the Faculty bade farewell to Mrs Ott who taught Mathematics to students in Years 7 to 11 for twelve years. Apart from achieving some excellent results with lower set Year 11 students on a consistent basis, Mr Ott will be remembered for her speedy marking, ability to relate mathematics to her previous career in banking plus being an effective Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator within the Faculty. We wish her an extremely happy retirement.

In September we welcomed back Mr James Davis who takes up the role of second in charge of the Faculty with specific responsibility for Key Stage 4 Mathematics. Mr Davis brings with him a wealth of mathematical teaching experience plus IT skills that should be very useful in the continued development of the Faculty. In addition, it is good to report that Mr Timothy McCurrach successfully completed his Newly Qualified Teacher year in December of last year. The Faculty has an encouraging blend of experience and youth that should stand us in good stead as we go forward.

Finally, as I reflect upon my first year back as Head of the Mathematics and Computing Faculty, I consider it to be a privilege to oversee such capable plus motivated groups of students plus staff and look forward to them continuing to respond so effectively the opportunities plus challenges of the coming year.

Neil Maltman Head of Mathematics

NatioNal CompetitioNs

Senior Mathematical Challenge

On Tuesday 6th November, students from Years 11, 12 and 13 took part in the Senior Mathematical Challenge. This year’s paper proved more difficult than most recent years’ papers with the average score being lower than usual.

However, the 356 Olavian entrants responded extremely positively to the challenge to achieve a record 281 certificates (43 gold, 122 silver and 116 bronze) representing an impressive 79% of entrants, by some way our highest ever proportion of entrants achieving such recognition. Special mention should be made of Alistair O’Neill (13Z) who achieved best in school with a score of 120 out of 125 plus Oscar Wilkins (12G) and Oliver Mansell (11M) who achieved best- in-year results.

Seven Year 13 students qualified for the first round of the British Mathematical Olympiad and an encouraging twenty-two qualified for the inaugural Senior Kangaroo Mathematics follow-on round. Many schools are highly selective in whom they enter for the Challenge, rather than St Olave’s policy of entering all students studying Mathematics at the appropriate level, and hence these results are another testament to the excellent problemsolving abilities possessed by many Olavians.

British Mathematical Olympiad: Rounds 1 & 2

The seven Olavian students who qualified for the British Mathematical Olympiad in December all achieved creditable results on a demanding paper. Special mention must be made of Alastair O’Neill (13Z) who was awarded a bronze medal placing him in the top 100 students nationally and Pascal Bose (13X) who received a certificate of distinction placing him in the top 25% of those sitting the paper. Both these students sat the even more daunting Round 2 paper in January. Congratulations go to Pascal Bose who managed to solve completely two of the four extremely demanding problems in this year’s paper to achieve a score placing him well within the top twenty scores nationally.

Senior Kangaroo

Nineteen students from Years 11 to 13 sat this follow-on competition from the Senior Mathematical Challenge. The paper consisted of twenty problems with three-digit answers. Six students achieved certificates of distinction placing them in the top 25% nationally. Congratulations go to Oliver Mansell (11M) and Alastair Haig (11N) who achieved the best results in the school, each successfully solving thirteen of the problems. This represents an impressive achievement as they were undertaking the paper against students up to two years their senior.

Intermediate Mathematical Challenge

In February a record 295 students from Years 9 to 11 participated in this year’s Intermediate Mathematical Challenge. They achieved a creditable 70 gold, 92 silver and 73 bronze certificates. Fifteen students qualified for the Olympiads and twenty-seven for the Kangaroo competitions that took place in March. Congratulations go to those achieving the best-in-year scores: Alistair Haig (11N), Tom Wang (10N) and Coby Plews (9L).

Intermediate Mathematical Olympiads and European Kangaroo

Olavians found this year’s Intermediate Olympiad papers tough and only Kush Banga (11L) managed to secure a certificate of distinction. However, a creditable seven students received a certificate of merit in the European Kangaroo papers.

Junior Mathematical Challenge

Students from Years 7 and 8 achieved another impressive set of results in this year’s Junior Mathematical Challenge. Almost ninety percent of students gained a certificate, including 74 gold, 74 silver and 50 bronze certificates. The outstanding top scorers in Year 8 were Daniel Maghsoudi and Christopher Rajendram who both scored 130 from a possible 135, whilst in Year 7 they were Alexander Song and Hai Duong who both attained a score of 124. There were ten qualifiers for the Junior Olympiad which took place in June.

Junior Mathematical Olympiad

St Olave’s involvement in this year’s national Mathematics competitions ended on a high. In the Junior Mathematical Olympiad, a record four students were awarded medals placing them well within the top two hundred students nationally. Alex Song (7C) achieved a gold medal for providing faultless solutions to five of the six demanding problems. Close on his heels were Alec Hong (8L) with a silver medal plus Daniel Maghsoudi (8C) and Oliver Bennett (7C) with bronze medals. Several of the other six entrants achieved creditable scores. All are to be congratulated upon these outstanding results that are a testament to some excellent problem-solving abilities and bode well for future successes.

Senior Mathematics Team Challenge: Regional Final

On Wednesday 14th November, some of the best mathematicians from over 35 schools gathered at Ravenswood for the South East London regional final of the UKMT and The Further Mathematics Network’s Senior Team Mathematics Challenge. Each school fielded four mathematicians for what would be an extremely tight competition.

Alistair O’Neill (13Z), Pascal Bose (13X), Louise Selway (12I) and Oscar Wilkins (12G) represented St. Olave’s supported by Mr Henley and Frau Cooley. After the first group round, the top five teams were separated by only one question, raising the pressure. Following a very strong performance in the cross-number, where we dropped only a single mark, came the fast-paced relay round in which points are awarded not only for getting the correct answers but also for beating the clock. With an average of a minute and a half per challenging question, this was no easy feat.

After all scores had been collated, overall we achieved second place, closely following a very strong St. Dunstan team. To do so well in such a competitive region was a performance of which the team can be proud.

UKMT Mathematics Team Challenge: Regional Final

On Wednesday 6th March, St Olave’s hosted the regional final of the UKMT Team Maths Challenge for thirty-five teams of four students from Years 8 and 9 from schools around South East London. After four hard-fought rounds of problem-solving, including a crossnumber and a frenetic relay, the Olavian A team of Owen Messere, Richard Moulange, Henry Miller and Christopher Rajendram emerged as narrow winners with a very high score of 224 points from a possible 240 and hence qualified for the national final in June. Congratulations also go to the B team of Richard Decker, Vishwakrith Shetty, Daniel Maghsoudi and Ken Yanagida, which achieved a very commendable fourth place.

UKMT Team Mathematics Challenge: National Final

St Olave’s achieved another top ten position in the National Final of the UKMT Team Mathematics Challenge on Tuesday 18th June. The team were placed 8th from the eighty teams in the final. The first part was a poster competition based upon the interesting theme of “Packing” which involved using prepared materials plus solving some problems set on the day. The team produced an impressive plus informative poster. In the actual competition, after a slow start in the group circus that involved some practical problem-solving, the team performed impressively in the remaining rounds, achieving close to maximum scores in the crossnumber, mini relay and relay rounds. The team is to be congratulated upon achieving St Olave’s best position for several years, a suitable reward for the considerable number of training sessions undertaken by Mr Sanderson plus Mr Maltman.

other aCtivities aNd Clubs

Mathematical Lecture

In April, the Olavian Mathematical Society continued its programme of lectures with former student Luke Abraham, currently reading Mathematics at St John’s College, University of Cambridge, returning to provide a highly entertaining lecture under the title Minus a half factorial and other nonsensical questions. The lecture certainly broadened our horizons mathematically and not a few quizzical faces left the Chapel that evening!

Oxbridge Mathematics Symposium

The School was delighted to welcome back Old Olavians Kit Harris and Luke Abraham (2004 – 2011) in September to lead our first ever Oxbridge Mathematics Symposium. They are second year Mathematics undergraduates from Oxford and Cambridge respectively. They presented engaging proofs of various assumptions which are taken for granted at pre-university Mathematics and gave insightful commentaries on the Oxbridge admissions process to members of Years 12 and 13. We aim to repeat and develop this opportunity in future years.

Royal Institution Maths Masterclasses

Iain McGowan and Matthew Burns from Year 13. Students have an opportunity to use their mathematical and arithmetic skills to design and fine-tune their racing cars in order seek places on the podium in races around simulations of various formula 1 race tracks.

Six Year 9 students had the opportunity to extend their mathematical horizons by attending

Mathematics

Masterclasses at Bromley High School on Saturday mornings during the Autumn term. The sessions involved exploring more advanced and abstract topics, often beyond the scope of traditional mathematics lessons. In the words of one student, “the emphasis on proof and rigour provided both challenge and satisfaction.”

Maths in Motion Club

The Jaguar Cars “Maths in Motion Club” has continued to be very enthusiastically and ably run by Peter Leigh,

St Olave’s qualified for the national final of the Jaguar Maths in Motion Challenge for Schools, a computerbased competition where students design and race cars around virtual Formula 1 circuits in a variety of driving conditions. Eddie Ho and Abhay Gupta of 7H competed against eleven other teams in their age group at the Heritage Motor Centre near Banbury on Wednesday 26th June. The computer-based competition involved designing a formula 1 racing car in the light of information given about a track and conditions. After a fiercely contested race, Eddie and Abhay achieved a very creditable 7th place in their age group. This is the first time we have reached this stage of the competition and its achievement is a testament to the outstanding training, support and encouragement provided over several years by Peter Leigh, who accompanied the team on the day, Iain McGowan and Matthew Burns-Watkins of the Upper VI.