THE University of the West Indies’ (UWI’s) Assembly Hall was abuzz with activity two Saturdays ago as 250 students from across the island gathered to take part in round two of the Jamaica Mathematical Olympiad.

Numbered among them was a young Tahir Thompson of Cornwall College, who was as enthusiastic as several others present.

“I am really excited. I like math and I think that I will do well. I hope I can make it all the way,” he told Career & Education, minutes before sitting the exam.

The competition — organised by the Department of Mathematics at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and Sterling Asset Management Limited — offers three students of grades 7 to 11 the opportunity to be the national mathematics champion at each grade level, and the chance to participate in the Centro 2010 Regional Mathematical Olympiad to be held in Puerto Rico in May.

Dr Raymond McEachin, lecturer in the Mathematics Department at the UWI and chairman of the organising committee of the Jamaica Mathematical Olympiad, said the competition is aimed at improving students’ interest in the subject.

“We want to have a visible and positive programme that can really put mathematics into a new light and we want to use that in the future to reach into more classrooms and to reach higher levels of achievement,” he said. “We believe that to the extent that this happens, you will start to see better results in exams. So we are really committed to this idea.”

The competition is comprised of four rounds, including the qualifying round, which was held last month. The top 10 students of each grade level from the March 6 test, will move on to the Jamaican Mathematical Olympiad on April 7, where they will vie for the coveted title of national champion. It is from this group that the students will be selected for the regional competition.

McEachin said he was especially pleased with the March 6 turnout because of the many students from rural and non-traditional high schools who attended.

“A lot of non-traditional schools are represented here and we are delighted to see that it is not just the few traditional schools that you might expect that are really grabbing this and running with it,” he said, explaining that Jamaica was among four Caribbean countries entering the regional competition for the first time.

“The recently invited countries are Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and the US Virgin Islands. I don’t know who is going to go but Jamaica is invited and we are definitely going,” he added.