Tom Eccles selected for UK Maths squad for International Mathematical Olympiad.

The IMO is the World Championship mathematics competition for school students and is held annually in a different country. The first IMO was held in 1959 in Romania, with 7 countries participating. It has gradually expanded to over 80 countries from 5 continents. 

In 2005 the IMO is being held in Mérida, in Mexico, and the process of selection of the team of six, plus two reserves, has been going on since November last year. After a multiple choice paper, the best performers were invited to participate in the British Mathematical Olympiad, which consists of six tough problems. The questions are much harder than anything encountered in A level or other public exams, and require very careful explanation as well as ingenuity and resourcefulness. The top hundred in this exam were then asked to take the even tougher second paper. As a result of both papers, twenty young people were invited to attend a training camp at Trinity College, Cambridge.

 

Tom found the camp very stimulating and was struck by the camaraderie of all the participants.  Some of these had already represented the UK at previous Olympiads and had been part of a 'super squad' under the direction of  Dr Geoff Smith, from Bath University, but there was no sense of elitism and it was clear that the places on the final squad were open to all. Tom impressed the leaders greatly during the camp and his performance on the Final Selection Test - an examination of awesome difficulty - secured him a place in the last eight.

 

Only six will actually travel to Mexico, but the reserves will form an integral part of the squad and everyone will be training together. Tom is aware that he will need to work hard to make the final cut and we wish him all the best in his efforts. As he is still in the Lower Eighth, he will, of course, have another chance in 2006, whatever happens this year.