With mental maths, geometry, and complex problem-solving all subject to tight time constraints, each moment is crucial, keeping us all hanging on every move of the pencil.
Last month Epsom hosted St George’s Weybridge in a home match featuring a highly capable team of pupils from Year 9-13: Sheryl Wang , Aloysius Yeung, Harry Shan and Thomas Stapely. Although an early lead was challenged in the final rounds, Epsom ultimately secured victory.
This week brought our second match, held at Sir William Perkins School (SWIPS). Returning scholar, Thomas Stapely, was joined by new recruits Sasha Gershstein, Angus English, and Donald Xing. The opening round set the standard for the afternoon, with the whole team scoring points for their questions on fractions. Geometry left both teams scratching their head over triangular numbers and trigonometry (without a calculator). Mental arithmetic also proved to be another strength with Epsom gaining full marks on divisibility and Angus, managing to steal a bonus mark from the SWIPS team.
The Team Question has been a previous weakness, however: not this time. Epsom managed an astonishing 20 correct examples of palindromic sums! The Calculator and Algebra rounds were neck and neck between the two teams, leaving just the final Race Round to determine the overall winner. Both Epsom and SWIPS had some success, but Thomas firmly defeated his opposing player with his swift work on integrals and recurring decimals.
The team was ecstatic about the final score of 52-25 in favour of Epsom. Congratulations to all who took part – this was a remarkable outcome against a highly respected school. Our toughest test lies ahead as we prepare for our final match against Hampton School next month.
