The Mathematical Olympiad for Girls (MOG) is an event run by the UK Mathematics Trust, introduced in 2011, to help schools nurture the talents of enthusiastic young female mathematicians. MOG lasts two and a half hours and consists of five complex mathematical problems for which full written solutions are required. The emphasis of the Olympiad is on advanced mathematical problem solving where the explanation of the answer is as important as the answer itself. It is aimed at girls in the Upper Sixth and below and is sat in schools in the autumn. The 2018 Mathematical Olympiad for Girls attracted 1483 entries nationwide, with LEH entering 20 students. In order to prepare for the Olympiad, students spent time at lunch time preparing for the Olympiad over a number of weeks as well as practising papers individually in their own time.

The MOG is so taxing that managing to get 25 marks out of 50 is no mean feat. 

LEH performed exceptionally well as a cohort, particularly when taken into account, for many, the inaugural participation of these students. Claudia (LVIB), Lucy (LVIE) and Alexandra (UVIK) achieved distinctions in the Olympiad, identifying them as within the top 25% of all students who completed the Olympiad. Claudia scored so highly that she was granted automatic entry to the British Mathematical Olympiad. Furthermore, over half of the remaining cohort many of them in the Lower Sixth and Upper Fifth were within 2 marks of achieving distinction standard.

Remarkably, given their position in the school, these students and many more in future at LEH will have more opportunities to participate and train for the Olympiad with the overall possibility of being selected to represent the UK in the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad or the International Mathematical Olympiad. The Maths Department would like to congratulate all of the girls who took part and look forward to seeing even more entries next year.

By Mr O’Brien – Teacher of Maths