Kiwi students compete in maths competition

Primary and secondary school students from all over New Zealand joined hundreds of thousands of students from around the world last Thursday to take part in the 37th annual Australian Mathematics Competition (AMC) sponsored by the Commonwealth Bank.

Students of all levels of ability, from all types of schools around the country, sat a 75-minute secondary paper or 60-minute primary paper, which contains some quirky questions with an emphasis on fun and problem solving.

The AMC is Australia’s original classroom-based mathematics competition, and has had more than 14 million entries since 1978. The AMC awards more than 1000 prizes and 70 medals annually. The not-for-profit Australian Mathematics Trust (AMT) administers the competition.

This year’s event had entries from some 40 countries across South East Asia, the Pacific, Europe, and Africa. Bangladesh took part in the AMC for the first time this year and entries from Tonga increased significantly.

Executive director of AMT, Adjunct Professor Mike Clapper, said they were delighted to welcome a number of new schools who were participating in the competition for the first time, especially primary schools, as encouraging the study of maths at an early age was vital.

“The competition is designed to be accessible to all students but it also identifies the most talented, who can then go on to a series of AMT enrichment programmes that nurture their special ability, and may lead to further success such as representing New Zealand in the International Mathematical Olympiad,” Professor Clapper said.

Outstanding students within their state or country, and overall in the competition, are awarded medals at annual ceremonies. The New Zealand AMC Medal ceremony will be held in Wellington on October 16.