ISA Students Celebrate a Standout Math Competition Season

With ISA students taking part in more than 15 different competitions across Middle and High School, this year’s math competition season was characterised by strong performances, impressive results, and opportunities to represent our school on national and international stages. Students rose to the challenge, earning recognition in competitions that attracted thousands of participants from around the world.

Highlights from this Year’s Math Competition Season

ISA placed 2nd in the Netherlands in the Dutch Math Olympiad Overall School Prize and 3rd in the Female School Prize

Six ISA students qualified for the Dutch Mathematical Olympiad Final Round, from more than 6,000 participants nationwide

An ISA student earned 1st Overall in the ISMTF Senior Virtual Competition

ISA teams achieved 3rd-place finishes in both the Senior and Junior divisions at the ISMTF Vienna Competition

An ISA team of two students won the World Insights Competition, earning a summer internship with the World Data Lab

A team of ISA Grade 9 students placed 36th out of 1,725 schools worldwide in the University of Waterloo contest

Dutch Math Olympiad

The Dutch Math Olympiad is one of the Netherlands’ most prestigious math competitions, challenging students to apply logic and advanced problem-solving skills to a series of demanding questions.

This year, 35 ISA students participated in the first round alongside more than 6,000 students from over 300 schools nationwide. ISA achieved outstanding school-wide success, placing 2nd in the Overall School Prize and 3rd in the Female School Prize.

Thirteen ISA students advanced to the second round, placing them among the top 900 competitors in the country. From there, six ISA students qualified for the final round in September, an impressive achievement considering only 135 students nationwide earned a place in the finals.

ISMTF Competitions

ISA students once again competed in the International Schools Mathematics Teachers Federation (ISMTF) competitions, taking part in both the virtual and travelling rounds.

In November’s virtual competition, ISA achieved excellent results across multiple divisions. In the Senior category, an ISA student earned 1st place overall while the school’s top team finished 2nd. More than 30 Middle School students also participated, competing in nine teams, with one ISA team placing in the top 15 out of more than 70 teams.

The in-person ISMTF competition took place in Vienna, where ISA students competed against nearly 200 participants from international schools around the world. ISA teams delivered some of the school’s strongest performances of the season, with both the Senior and Junior teams earning 3rd-place finishes out of 50 teams in their respective divisions. Several ISA students also achieved top-10 individual results.

MathCounts

Forty Middle School students participated in ISA’s MathCounts programme this year, taking part in the school competition before advancing to the chapter round.

Twelve students represented ISA at the chapter competition in Barcelona, competing against more than 115 participants. ISA’s top team finished 6th overall, while two students placed among the top 20 competitors.

University of Waterloo Math Contests

A total of 29 ISA students took part in the University of Waterloo’s Pascal, Cayley, and Fermat contests, including 14 Grade 9 students, 9 Grade 10 students, and 6 Grade 11 students.

Twenty students earned distinction awards across the three contests, including 10 Grade 9 students, 7 Grade 10 students, and 3 Grade 11 students. Several students achieved near-perfect scores.

ISA’s Grade 9 team placed an impressive 36th out of 1,725 schools worldwide, while one ISA student ranked 163rd out of more than 25,000 Grade 9 participants internationally. ISA’s Grade 11 team also performed strongly, placing 57th among 429 international schools.

World Insights Competition

ISA High School students participated in the World Insights Competition, an international challenge organised by the World Data Lab that combines data analysis, statistics, and visual storytelling.

Three ISA teams submitted projects, and all three advanced to the final judging round by placing among the top 15 entries. Two ISA teams finished in the top 10, while one ISA team was named the overall winner of the competition.

As a result of their success, the winning students earned a summer internship with the World Data Lab—an exciting opportunity to apply their analytical skills in a professional setting.

American Mathematics Competitions (AMC 8, AMC 10, AMC 12)

ISA students participated in all three levels of the American Mathematics Competitions this year. Twenty-nine students competed in AMC 8, 19 students participated in AMC 10, and 12 students took part in AMC 12.

Math Olympiad for Middle School (MOEMS)

Thirty-five Middle School students participated in five rounds of the Math Olympiad for Middle School (MOEMS).

Nine ISA students earned recognition by placing in the top 50% of participants worldwide, among more than 120,000 students. One ISA student achieved a top-20% finish, demonstrating exceptional performance in a highly competitive international field.

Our aspiring mathematicians truly made the most of this year’s competition season. Reflecting on this year’s achievements, math teacher Kat, who leads ISA’s math competition efforts, shared:

“This year, we saw a record number of students join both the Middle and High School math clubs. We achieved some truly great results—including adding two new trophies to the school’s collection! But most importantly, we had an incredible amount of fun in a collaborative environment while fostering a love for logic and advanced problem-solving.”

Throughout this competition season, students have demonstrated perseverance, and a willingness to challenge themselves. Whether competing internationally or tackling difficult problems closer to home, they represented ISA with enthusiasm and determination

As ISA’s math clubs continue to grow, this year’s competition season stands as another reminder of what students can accomplish when they embrace a challenge and explore mathematics beyond the classroom.