From Thursday 17th October to Saturday 19th October 2019, two groups of three students each, from Hundred and Lower Sixth, represented Marlborough College Malaysia in the annual World Mathematics Championships (WMC) Senior Qualifiers 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. With over 170 math. enthusiasts competing from different international schools across Asia, who were all captivated by the spell of numbers, we are delighted to announce that one of our Lower Sixth students – Bingqi Li, received the ‘golden ticket’ to the WMC Senior Finals that will take place in Melbourne Australia.
‘Personally, this was my first time joining. It was truly an eye-opening experience which allowed me to meet new people, sharing the same math. interest and getting to see another side of mathematics – the excitement and amusement of numbers, unknown algebraic values, as well as applying mathematical knowledge in real-life situations and critical-creative thinking skills, instead of the usual ‘test’ side of mathematics. It was also an astonishing experience to be able to work collaboratively with students from other international schools and crack the mystery code behind many different mathematical questions. Although the competition was challenging they certainly gave us an unmeasurable, rewarding experience, and allowed me to be more motivated in improving my knowledge and skills.’ – Yungli Soo –
‘The World Mathematics Championship was a remarkable experience. During the competition, we were presented with many different challenges. Among them, I enjoyed the lightning round the most. It was a round where we were able to apply our mathematical knowledge to it while needing to actively run fast for about an hour. Those different rounds also helped lead us thinking creatively and critically, connecting maths to other subject areas I’ve learnt, such as the Duel Heat round. We played games using toothpicks and participants were required to try figuring out the strategy and method/pattern to win. Thus during our rest time before the second round, I’ve coded a simulation for practices and strategy development. Overall it was an incredibly astounding experience,and I am looking forward to the final round in Australia this December.’ – Bingqi Li –
Congratulations to Bingqi Li, we wish you the best of luck in the finals, and well done to Barry Tai, Tim Lan, Rock Deng, Yeck Fan Phoon, Yungli Soo. A big thanks to Mrs Calverd, Mr Cheong, Ms Hughes and Mr Vickery for taking and guiding us well.
Lastly, the Mathematics department plans to send further teams to this competition at all levels, so keen mathematicians should look out for the opportunity.
