Maths students success at Dominic

In Term 1, four of our Year 8 boys participated in the Australian Mathematics Trust’s Computational and Algorithmic Thinking Competition. This is a very difficult competition in which participants have to attempt 15 questions on a one hour test.

This is the first time Dominic students have competed in this Australia-wide competition. It is worth noting that Oscar Breslin only made one mistake, and that the other three boys only had three of the 15 questions wrong.

Results of the Computational and Algorithmic Thinking Competition:

• Harry Breslin 27 Top 32% Credit
• Ilar Flynn 29 Top 22% Credit
• Max Brideson 29 Top 22% Credit
• Oscar Breslin 34 Top 5% Distinction

In Term 2, the same four boys worked on a four week Enrichment Stage of the Australian Mathematics Trust’s programme. This involved them trying to solve six very complex problems, each worth four marks, over the four week period. Harry Breslin and Max Brideson both scored 21 out of a possible 24 marks, which is an outstanding achievement and means they were awarded a Distinction. Ilar Flynn received a Credit and Oscar Breslin was awarded a Participation certificate.

Again, these four boys competed in the Australian Mathematics Competition (another AMT run competition) in Term 3. All four boys gained a ‘Distinction’ in this competition, with Oscar achieving a result which put him in the 97th percentile, and Max a score which put him in the 90th percentile. These students have shown that they are not only excelling at school level, but they are performing extremely well at a National level.

Also in Term 1, a number of our students participated in the Mathematical Association of Tasmania’s Annual Problem Solving Competition. We had seven entries in the Primary division, 11 in the Junior Division (Years 7 & 8) and four in the Intermediate Division (Years 9 & 10). This is a very difficult competition in which participants have to attempt 10 questions on a 2 hour test.

Last year, we had four students finish in the top three in their age division and won prizes ranging from $100 for first, down to $40 for third. This year we had similar success with the following students gaining a major place:

• Blake Appleby was equal third in the Upper Secondary division.
• Priyannika Kumrai was second in the Primary division.
• Oscar Breslin was first in the Junior Secondary division.

President of the Mathematical Association of Tasmania, Mr Brett Stephenson, was here to present the major awards to these students. He commented that Dominic College was the only school in Tasmania to have gained a major place in each division of the competition, so congratulations to all 22 students who participated in this competition for facing up to such a difficult challenge and for doing the College proud.

Mr Graeme Harris - Head of Maths 7-10