ORGANISERS of the 2011 UWI/Sterling Asset Management Jamaican Math Olympiad have reported a 45 per cent increase over last year in the number of students entering the qualifying round and sitting the first written exam of the competition.

Eight hundred and thirty-seven students entered this year’s qualifying round by answering questions published in the UWI/Sterling Asset Management Jamaican Math Olympiad newspaper feature. This is 264 more students than the 573 who participated last year. In addition, 395 students sat the 2011 Round I written examination, up from 273 in 2010.

“These statistics indicate that interest in the competition is growing, while the commitment and discipline of the students have improved,” noted Dr Raymond McEachin, mathematics lecturer at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and co-ordinator of the competition, in a release to Career & Education.

He added that based on the results of the written examinations, about 193 students moved to the second round on April 2. From that number, 100 students were to be selected to go to the final round on April 23.

From that number, the top 50 — comprised of 10 students each from five grades — will receive medals and honourable mentions. Five of the best performers from the top 50 — aged 16 or younger — will form a National Math Olympiad team to represent Jamaica at the regional competition in Mexico in June.

According to McEachin, about a quarter of all high schools in Jamaica have participated in this year’s competition, with a number of new schools joining, among them St Hilda’s High, Marymount High and Dinthill Technical.

He also praised teachers and parents for their of the participating students.

“Teachers lead the activities in the schools and are, therefore, a crucial determinant of the success of this competition. In fact, before launching the competition last year, we met with a large number of teachers to get their feedback, which helped us to design an effective programme,” McEachin said.

Charles Ross, managing director of Sterling Asset Management — title sponsor of the competition which is in its second year — believes it is a timely programme to help develop problem-solving skills among young Jamaicans.

“This Jamaican Math Olympiad competition is meant to identify and support talented young mathematicians. While we like it for the benefits that it will deliver to the individual students who are involved, we also like it because we recognise that when Jamaica’s young people become acquainted with the scientific reasoning skills which mathematics delivers, they are also preparing to help the country benefit from the myriad rewards that such critical, analytical thinking delivers,” he said.