Five students in Years 7 and 8 gained a gold award in the Junior Mathematical Challenge and Year 7 student Matthew Ford did so well that he will now go forward to the Junior Mathematical Olympiad which is taken by the top entrants across the country.

Matthew said: “It feels great to have come top in the school in the individual paper as I was not sure how I had done as the questions were quite hard.”

Maths teacher Marion Freeman said: “I am extremely proud of the students’ achievements. This is the first time we have entered this competition and the students did so with very little preparation. They took the paper in exam conditions, which could have been stressful for students so early in their secondary school careers, but they took it in their stride and did us proud.”

The team of four students (Alex Lawless, Andreas Milan, Owen Robinson and Kyle English) who entered the Maths Team Challenge also came fifth, beating off many other teams from schools across Northamptonshire.

The maths challenges are run by the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust and are aimed at promoting student’s interest in the subject. Year 9 student Andreas Milan also did well in the Intermediate Maths Challenge follow up Kangaroo round.

Competed in by the top entrants, he was awarded a merit.

Preparation now begins for next year’s individual and team events in Maths Challenge Club on Monday during Session 4. The aim of the competitions and the club is to take the knowledge and skills learned in normal lessons and apply them to different situations to broaden the student’s maths experience.

Junior Mathematical Challenge results: Gold award - Owen Robinson (best in year), Samantha Loveday, Kim Samuels-Hammond, Keelan Robertson (all Year 8) Matthew Ford

(best in year and best in school); Silver award - Kelsey Fordyce, Eryn Church, Charlie Small (all Year 8), Shona Duncan, Tarun Diwan, Kathryn McQue, Jason Byrne (all Year 7);

Bronze award - Benjamin Campbell, Conor Bird, Emanuel Dobos, Jaydon Mould (all Year 8) Louis Chandler, Ross Dick (all Year 7).