Last Wednesday (24 May) two teams (One Year 9 and One Year 10) competed in the Cantamath Mathematics Competition held at the Christchurch Arena. The competition features teams from nearly every high school in Canterbury with some also coming from Mid-Canterbury and South Canterbury. It is always an exciting evening watching the top mathematicians in our area work on some very challenging questions. The competitors are given questions worth 5 points each. They must successfully complete the given problem before they will be given the next question. The goal is to finish all 20 questions in a 30-minute timeframe. Teams which can complete this are given a “Golden Ticket” (Note: Only 2 teams gained Golden Tickets in the Year 9 and 10 competitions this year).

Year 9: The Year 9 team consisted of Aodhan Berry, Dylan Cox, Mason Kenna, and Jared Walker. The team got off to a quick start and stayed with the pack for most of the first 20 minutes. They lost some time on one question but finished strongly with a total of 65, placing them in the top 40% of the 61 teams.

Year 10: The Year 10 team consisted of Ashton Fisher, Ben Harkerss, Jaeger Pryce, and Aidan Walker. The team were neck and neck with the leaders for the entire time of the competition and finished just short of the golden ticket goal with a score of 90. The team finished an impressive 4th out of 56 teams competing.

Well done to all participants!