Team Caterham Take Silver at UKMT Team Maths Challenge

On Tuesday 7 May, Rupert and Catherine in the Second Year and Hunson and Yihu in the Third Year took part in the UKMT Team Maths Challenge at Wilson’s School. After a four-year sabbatical due to COVID, the challenge was back with a soft-launched regional final. The competition brings pupils from 20 different schools to compete in a Maths competition requiring good teamwork, communication skills and logical thought processes under strict time pressure.

The competition starts with a group challenge that features ten questions, allowing pupils to work together. Round two is the ‘Crossnumber’, where teams are split between down and across clues. The ‘Shuttle Round’ is next, where answers rely on previous responses, finishing with a nail-biting relay race, where teams race to compete against the clock with quick fire questions.

The competition started well, with a group challenge that Caterham School excelled in and scored the full sixty marks. After a difficult ‘Crossnumber’, the team dropped only one mark half-way through the competition. The shuttle proved the most difficult, but Caterham remained in the top five teams for the final round. After some blistering pace and great accuracy from the fantastic four, the team came second overall (to Wilson’s, playing with home advantage) with a score of 214/234, beating teams from City of London Freemen’s and Reed’s, amongst others. The pupils enjoyed the competition and learnt some useful skills in mathematical problem-solving.

We are extremely excited to continue competing in the Junior and Senior Team Maths Challenges next year. A massive congratulations to Rupert, Catherine, Hinson and Yihu for their efforts and exemplary behaviour throughout the day.

Mr Lee Searle