Bunbury Cathedral Grammar Students named top team at State-wide maths Olympiad

Some of Bunbury’s brightest students have shot to the top of the class following a Statewide competition.

Last month, Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School students Oliver Barrett, Chris Cunningham, Declan Sander and James Underdown competed in the West Australian Mathematics Junior Olympiad at Edith Cowan University’s South West Campus.

The year 7 and 8 students put their minds together, coming out on top as the region’s most outstanding Year 8 team for the day.

Formulated as a way to encourage students in the region to “have a go” at maths, the students said it was an “unexpected” victory.

“Our team did not think we would even come close to winning so that made us pretty nervous,” Declan Sander said. “The questions were tricky, but overall it was a good competition.

Oliver Barrett added: “I think I speak for all of us when I say that winning was quite unexpected.

“When our team was called, we were all very surprised, as there were many teams and schools there. We had no idea that we had come even close to winning.

Successful in their own right, Sander and Cunningham were awarded most outstanding years 7 and 8 students respectively, with students completing questions individually online prior to the group challenge.

That victory also came as a surprise to 11-year-old Sander.

“Before they read my name out for the individual winner, they said my name accidentally for the runner-up, so I thought that I got third,” he said. “But then I was really excited and surprised when I won.”.

The winning mathletes received a collective $300 in prize vouchers to share between them.