Tonbridge Boys in British Maths Olympiad

Tonbridge boys have achieved quite extraordinary results in the latest round of the British Maths Olympiad.

Six students – Isaac King, Alex Chui, Hayden Lam, Catalin Botezat, Yury Balabin and Justin Leung – all earned the right to take part in the second round of the Olympiad, an extremely challenging national examination which features only the top 100 Maths students across the country.

Isaac and Alex then both achieved the ultimate feat of gaining full marks: they were two of only three candidates in the entire contest to score 40 out of 40, which meant they were awarded the joint top position in the country.

Hayden and Catalin also put in highly impressive performances at this national stage. Hayden finished fifth equal in the country with a score of 30 out of 40. Catalin was placed within the top 40 candidates overall with a score of 20 out of 40.

Following their spectacular results, Isaac, Alex and Hayden have all been invited to join the UKMT (UK Mathematics Trust) camp, which is being held at Trinity College, Cambridge over the Easter holidays. A team of six will then be chosen to represent the UK at the International Maths Olympiad later this year.

Ian Jackson, Mathematics Teacher at Tonbridge, said: ‘These results are, quite possibly, the best by any school in the UK since the 1980s. We thought our results in last year’s British Maths Olympiad Second Round were unbeatable, when we had two candidates finishing joint second in the UK, but we have managed to top that this year. 

‘The School’s frequent successes in Maths Olympiads in recent years does speak volumes for the immense strength of the Maths Department as a whole and for our dedicated teaching staff, who invest time and energy into nurturing boys’ talent. 

‘These top-in-the-country results are an inspiration for all and make it a wonderful time to be studying Maths at Tonbridge, in any year group.’

The British Maths Olympiad is run by the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust and is open to students from all schools and colleges in the country.

* In 2021, two Tonbridge leavers, Sherman Yip and Victor Lin, gained places to read Maths at Trinity College, Cambridge, where the course is world renowned.

See Tonbridge’s online listing here.