Two Tonbridge boys selected for prestigious International Mathematical Olympiad

Tonbridge boys Isaac King (CH4) and Alex Chui (CH2) will be taking part in one of the most prestigious Maths competitions in the world this summer.

Both have been selected to represent the UK at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) in July, and will be flying to Japan in order to compete.

The boys previously attended the IMO selection camp at Trinity College, Cambridge, and based on their strong performances they were chosen for the six-person UK team.

James Ashton, Head of Mathematics, said: “It is extremely rare for any school in any country to be providing two of the six contestants selected for the IMO, and so this is a fine achievement by the boys and by Tonbridge. It is an exciting prospect to see these talented mathematicians take to the international stage.”

Held annually, the IMO is the premier ‘World Championship’ Maths competition for senior school students. The first IMO, which took place in 1959, saw seven countries participating; it has since expanded to more than 100 countries across five continents.

Last term, Alex and Isaac were also selected to represent the UK at the Romanian Master of Mathematics competition. Alex was awarded a Silver medal and Isaac a Bronze.

Following his outstanding result in the Intermediate Mathematics Olympiad, Ralph Edmonson (OH3) has been invited to attend the renowned UK Mathematics Trust Oxford Olympiad Camp, which takes place in August at Queen’s College, Oxford.

This is the fifth consecutive year Tonbridge is sending a student to this camp, with Ralph following in the footsteps of Sherman Yip (a 2021 leaver currently reading Maths at Trinity College, Cambridge), Isaac King, Hayden Lam (FH5) and Sam Zang (FH3).

These successes are the latest in a long line of achievements for the School’s Maths Department. A Tonbridge team came ‘Top in the World’ in Trinity Maths Competition (Winter 2023), an annual online contest which tests students’ problem-solving abilities under time pressure. The boys finished ahead of more than 150 teams from leading schools across the world, including those in China, the US and the UK, to take first place.

Earlier this year, First, Second and Third Year boys achieved excellent results in the  Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad and the Kangaroo, the follow-up rounds to the Intermediate Maths Challenge. Tonbridge’s results included placings of second and fourth best in the country in the Intermediate Olympiad.