Maths Challenge

BRGS came close to once again qualifying for the National Final of the UKMT Team Challenge competition.

Four pupils from Years 8 & 9 took place in a Regional Final at Bradford Grammar School on Wednesday 22^nd March and finished fourth out of 30 schools.

Jason Diamantis and Joseph Nogbou (both Year 8) and Ben Fishwick and Zahra Shah (Year 9) were the pupils in this year’s team.

The UKMT Team Challenge comprises four rounds of puzzles and problems which require pupils to apply their mathematical knowledge and aptitude in a variety of different ways.

The most challenging round is the CrossNumber in which the team work in pairs to complete either the across clues or the down clues; the difficulty is provided by some across clues requiring down answers and vice versa.

The BRGS team actually completed this round with 15 minutes to spare and scored full marks.

The Shuttle round provides further challenge as the answer to each question is used in the next question, before an overall final answer is reached. Just one mistake can throw the whole sequence, which means the pupils have to start again from where that mistake occurred.

Maths teacher Mr Wilbraham, who accompanied the team to the Regional Final, said: “After reaching the National Final in 2016, we were hopeful of at least finishing in the top three of the Regional Final this year.

“In a change from previous competitions, the top five weren’t announced after each round, so we had no idea of how we were doing.

“Zahra thought we had finished below tenth, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear we were fourth, especially given the competition from other schools was particularly tough.

“However, we will go again next year, when Jason and Joseph will still be eligible to compete, and hopefully we can return to a top three finish!”