Academy Finishes In 4th Place In UK On World Maths Day

High-scoring students at Tollbar Academy who helped the school to a fantastic overall performance of 4th place in the UK on World Maths Day. They are: (l-r) Alfie Tucker, Igor Biegun, top-scorer Jun Han Chen, second-highest scorer Stefan Oancea, and Macheda Cariss. Pictured with them is David Sidebottom, Curriculum Leader for Maths, Key Stage 3.

Tollbar Academy Year 7 Maths students are celebrating fantastic results after being placed 4th in the UK and 31st in the world following their performance on World Maths Day. More than 9,000 schools took part in the annual event across 130 countries, and, individually, some Tollbar Academy students finished in the top 100 in the UK, and well inside the top 500 across the globe.

Of the 11 and 12-year-old students, Jun Han Chen was the highest scoring individual student, finishing in 61st place in the UK and 336th in the world. He was followed by Stefan Oancea, who finished in 504th place, and Teo Ivanov, who finished 536th.

David Sidebottom, Assistant Curriculum Leader for Maths at the Academy, described the students’ performance as ‘phenomenal.’

“To finish so high up the leader board against so many students was just incredible and I am so proud of the students at Tollbar who worked so hard to do well on the day,” he said.

Last week was the 15th anniversary of World Maths Day. The event aims to get primary and secondary school students excited and enthusiastic about learning Maths and encourage friendships between children of different cultures as they improve their Maths skills together.

“Speed and accuracy are essential on the day and the students proved their skills with quick fire answers. They got very excited because they could see how others were doing against them, with live score updates, so it was a very thrilling contest, “ said Mr Sidebottom. “Maths Day encourages students to have fun with numbers while really testing their skills and increasing their confidence. They were playing against students in the USA, Malaysia, Egypt, literally across the world,” he added.

The students each received a certificate to celebrate their success. Jun Han Chen said: “It was great fun and we are proud to have done so well.”