On Thursday, October 26, 2023, under the bright lights of McLean Hall, dozens of students gathered to write the annual Canadian Open Math Contest (COMC). This is just one of several math contests that the Saints Math Department holds each year. Most competitions, including the COMC, are open to students in grades 8 to 12. These events strive to foster an environment of problem solving and continued learning of mathematics outside of the classroom.
Contests are meant to challenge students who are passionate about math. This year, students have already competed in the COMC, CSIMC (Canadian Senior and Intermediate Math Competition), AMC (American Math Contest), and AIME (American Invitational Mathematics Examination), among other contests.
The COMC is Canada’s premiere high school math competition. This year, it boasted over 6,000 test takers globally. Kiran Sun, a current grad, has been involved in the COMC and other math contests for over seven years. Recently, he achieved Saints’ top score with a 75/80, earning him an honorable mention for the whole of Canada. Yuyang Fu (‘26) placed second for all Saints students, scoring 65/80, an impressive feat that qualified him for an honorable mention in BC, alongside Derek Li (‘25) and Oscar Liu (‘26).
The University of Waterloo sponsored CSIMC on November 15th was also a success. For the Senior contest, Kiran Sun (‘24), Joseph Wang (‘25), and Justin Bao (‘25) achieved the top 3 scores at Saints, while Yuyang Fu (‘26), Ryan Pan (‘26’), Andy Yi (‘26), Ryan Cai (‘26), and Marco Zhang’s (‘26) efforts in the Intermediate contest secured the school’s overall ranking of third in the Province.
Having been immersed in math contests since the Junior School, Kiran has seen how it plays a positive effect on a student’s learning. “Often, math in the classroom is applying formulas, whereas math contests challenge students to come up with the right approach,” says Kiran. “It’s fun. Math contests are like puzzles… it’s seeing what will happen if you try new things.”
Earlier this month, a number of students also wrote the American Invitational Mathematics Examination, an accomplishment on its own. This was the culmination of the top-scoring papers on the AMC earlier this school year. In November, over 60 students participated in the AMC 10/12. The top 3 winners at Saints for the AMC 10, the grade 10-and below version of the paper, were Jack Wang (‘28), who achieved a perfect score, Yihan Hu (‘28), and Ryan Wu (‘27). From the 47 grade 8-10 students writing the contest, six received Certificates of Achievement, eight received Certificates of Distinction, and ten had top papers and were invited to the AIME. On the AMC 12, Andrew Zhang (‘24) and Victor Zheng (‘25) placed first and second respectively and earned Certificates of Distinction, while Jason Lai (‘24), Reece Liu (‘24), and Ian Qiu (‘25) tied for third. Overall, nine grade 11-12s were invited to the AIME. Those who wrote the AIME are hoping to advance to the USAMO (United States of America Mathematical Olympiad) and USAJMO (United States of America Junior Mathematical Olympiad) in March, two incredibly prestigious competitions.
In November was also the High School Mathematical Contest in Modelling (HiMCM). The contest is unique in that it challenges students to use mathematics to model and develop a solution to a real-world problem. In a pool of 967 teams from 18 counties, the contest culminated with nine Outstanding Winners, one of which was St. George’s School, made up of Leo Fu (‘26), Ken Zhao (‘26), Jerry Chen (‘26), and Ray Zhang (‘26).
On Thursday this week, Kiran Sun (‘24) and Jack Wang (‘28) wrote the Canadian Math Olympiad (CMO), while Leo Fu (‘26) and Ryan Zhu (‘28) wrote the Canadian Junior Math Olympiad (CJMO). The top test-takers for these two invite-only contests will be shortlisted for the selection for Team Canada at the International Mathematical Olympiad. Keep your fingers crossed for these students as they hope to represent Canada at the international level!
With the long list of standout math students at Saints, the future is in good hands. The Math Department’s dedication in organizing and hosting math contests has fostered a spirit of healthy competition, encouraging curiosity and problem-solving outside of the classroom. These contests will, without a doubt, instill a passion for the subject in students; by providing opportunities to challenge themselves, students are equipped with the necessary tools to emerge as young mathematicians.
