Congratulations to Allen Roberts from Year 8 who received an incredible score of 100% in Maths Olympiad. To honour his success, Allen received a special medal and a letter to say he was one of 67 out of 13,978 students from across Australia and New Zealand to get that score. Learn more about
What do you enjoy most about Maths?
The thing I enjoy most about the subject of Maths is that there is a strict and standard procedure to answering a type of question. This makes the subject quite logic-based and easier to understand once the basic concepts are nailed down.
How did you feel in the lead-up to competing in Maths Olympiad?
I was feeling alright as I knew I was capable of many things in Maths Olympiad. However, I also knew that I did not perform to the level I expected to last year. This time, I was determined to prove that I could and would do very well again.
How did you prepare for it?
My preparation for the Maths Olympiad was quite simple. As I understood the concepts required to know, I just had to get a feel for how questions would be presented. I improved this when we were given practice papers which showed the formatting and what questions would be similar to. It was just practice and familiarisation with question types.
How did you feel when you found out you placed in the top 1%?
I was very happy and pleased to know that my effort and hard work had paid off. Practising was not the most fun activity, but I knew it was all for the end result. This had motivated me to continuously strive for the best possible score after every test.
When did you first notice you were good at Maths?
I was quite an average student all throughout my younger primary years, and I only truly started becoming fascinated by the subject when I began to learn further advanced and higher levels of maths. This was truly developed through my first interactions and engagements in Maths Olympiad. Once I noticed that I consistently got high scores in both assessments and chapter tests, I understood that I had a mathematical gift given to me by God. After realising I had great potential in mathematics, I took the subject further, researching and understanding more and more at a higher-level; two to three grades higher than my own at the time.
Do you have any future goals related to Maths that you would like to achieve?
Due to my God-given mathematical knowledge and gifts, I would like to take up Maths in my higher-secondary years. Pursuing Mathematical Methods and possibly Specialist Maths, I hope to get a good score and overall take a career that is designated to the mathematical and scientific industries. This would both make me happy as an individual and would also be a good career to have experience in something I am passionate about.