I joined three girls from our Senior School Year 8 and Year 9 on a trip to the 2018 regional UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) Team Challenge. We arrived at St Olaves with lots of enthusiasm, very prepared for what lay ahead. There were 30 teams from all over south-east London competing for the regional title. The first round (a group round) went well and by the second round (the Shuttle Round), we were warmed up and managed a very respectable score. Our best round was the third one (the Crossnumber), which worked like a crossword but with numbers. We almost completed the whole thing before the time was up - much harder to do than it sounds!

The last round was a relay which involved a lot of running back and forth. It was very tense but we answered more problems in the time than many of the other teams. Overall, we came 10th out of 30 schools, our best result in several years, and we had lots of fun. Any Year 7 or Year 8 students (who will be Year 8 and 9 next year) who want to take part next year should sign up in September to join the UKMT Club with Mr Tarr.