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Ashburton can now boast it has not one, but two, Aoraki Maths Competition champions.
A team of four pupils from St Joseph’s School won the Year 7 competition, as earlier reported in The Ashburton Courier, but it turns out a team from Ashburton Intermediate School won the Year 8 level too.
Leon Stephen, Isaac Davison, David Scott and Brady Hunsley took the top honour in the annual Year 8 maths competition winning their age group by three points and answering every question.
Teacher Jade Tonks said the competition was not just about finding the correct answer — speed, strategy and teamwork were all crucial.
It saw pupils challenged to answer 20 mathematical problems in just 30 minutes.
“It was not just about getting the question right — it’s about getting it right the fastest,” Tonks said.
Ashburton Intermediate entered two Year 7 teams and two Year 8 teams in the competition held at Timaru Boys’ High School this month and all four teams finished in the top quarter of all teams competing.
“The Year 8 competition proved particularly challenging this year, with the questions pitched at approximately a Year 9 level.
"Despite this, the AIS Year 8 team rose to the challenge and won. They produced an outstanding performance, winning the competition by just three points.
"They were the only team not to pass on a question. Their prize was a scientific calculator and a $20 Warehouse voucher.”
She said students spent considerable time preparing for the competition, learning mathematical strategies, shortcuts, tricks and formulas to help them work both accurately and quickly.
Tonks said she was incredibly proud of the effort put in by the teams involved.
"Their mathematical knowledge would rival that of many adults, and they should be incredibly proud of what they achieved,” she said.