Although it doesn’t sound possible, maths competitions can be a lot of fun. That becomes obvious as soon as you arrive at the Hong Kong International School (HKIS), where the inter-school DragonMath competition takes place. The competition is open to middle-school students, and they all seem to be having a great time.
The students kneel and stand around tables as there are no chairs, and they talk – or, more accurately, scream to be heard above the accompaniment of loud pop music. But although they are excited and enthusiastic, they are still working hard. Their faces reveal concentration and focus, and a determination to win.
The DragonMath competition was brought to HKIS 19 years ago by a teacher from New Zealand. “It’s a competition consisting of cooperative problem-solving mixed with athletic endeavour,” says Jordan Davis, the HKIS maths teacher who organised this year’s event.
Students from international schools and ESF schools are the main participants, and schools alternate as hosts. The competition is usually held in a school gym. Schools can send two teams of Grade 7 students and two teams of Grade 8 students. The winning school is awarded a trophy, while the top groups in each grade, along with the two runners-up, get medals to take home. This year, 17 schools participated in the event held in March.
The 45-minute competition contained 36 questions. “It’s maths at top speed,” says Greg Ladner, associate principal, middle school, at HKIS. “The questions are the same for both groups, and come from areas everyone would have studied. They are like quiz questions. They need a problem-solving approach, and the students need to apply basic skills.”
The size of the competition varies, depending on the size of each school gym. This time, there were 68 tables of four students each. The teachers sat at the end of the room to give out the questions. One student from each table was the designated runner, and dashed to the front to pick up a question, running back to the table as fast as possible.
