Maths magicians take top honours at school competition

Newcastle Permanent Chief Distribution Officer Paul Juergens with the year 5 winners.

Newcastle Permanent Chief Distribution Officer Paul Juergens with the year 6 winners.

HUNTER students had the formula for success as they excelled at the 2023 Newcastle Permanent primary school Mathematics Competition.

Participants from over 330 schools across the Hunter, Central Coast, Mid North Coast, North Coast, Northern Rivers, Central West and New England North West, had to complete 35 questions without help from calculators, rulers or other mathematical instruments.

In the Year 6 division Jonah Jo from St Philips Christian College, Waratah was a joint winner while The Junction Public Schools Samuel Brennan finished in third place.

In Year 5 two Newcastle students shared the third place honours, in New Lambton Public Schools Wenhao Wei and Tighes Hill Public Schools Isaac Hood.

Newcastle Permanent Chief Distribution Officer Paul Juergens presented major award winners with their prizes in a ceremony at the Newcastle Permanent Centre of Excellence on October 31, while District Awards were presented at local branches across NSW.

The Hunter region always performs well in this competition and this year was no exception, so I extend my congratulations to the students and their teachers for their fantastic efforts, he said.

Although we live in a world where we carry answers in our pockets, it is still critical that students learn to problem-solve and think on their feet."

This competition tests those skills and asks students to apply and extend their numeracy knowledge to find the solutions they need."

Based on their results, all participating students received a high distinction, distinction, merit or participation certificate, while those who placed or won a District Award also received a Newcastle Permanent account credit.