King’s Ely’s Eleanor reaps benefits of Mathematical Training Camp

Talented King’s Ely student Eleanor MacGillivray has been able to further explore her love of Maths at the University of Oxford.

Eleanor, aged 15, was one of only two Year 10 girls from the whole of the UK to be invited to attend the prestigious Mathematical Olympiad Training Camp. The programme was organised by the UK Mathematics Trust and took place at The Queen's College, Oxford during the summer holidays.

Eleanor, who lives near Bury St Edmunds and is now in Year 11 at King’s Ely Senior, described the camp as an “incredible experience”. She said: “I felt very honoured to be there. It was highly intensive, with a full week of problem solving and lectures on topics such as combinatorics and number theory, all given by renowned mathematicians, many of whom have represented the UK in previous International Maths Olympiads.

“It was fantastic to meet other young people from the UK who share my love of Maths, and to be able to exchange problems and solutions with them. The week was an incredible experience in the magnificent environment of Oxford University, and I relished every minute! I would like to thank the Maths department at King's Ely for all their continued support.”

This summer, 98 per cent of King’s Ely’s GCSE Maths students achieved at least a grade 4 pass, with 57 per cent of students achieving at least a grade 7. In the challenging Further Maths GCSE paper, 63 per cent of pupils achieved a grade 8 or 9, which is the equivalent to an A*.

In May this year, Eleanor was among students from the top Maths sets in Years 9, 10 and 11 at King’s Ely who received their results from the annual Intermediate Maths Challenge. A total of 13 students qualified for the next round of the competition, three of whom achieved Merits; placing them in the top 25 per cent nationally. Eleanor achieved a Gold certificate and was not only the top scorer in her year, but the whole school.

Audrienne Bezzina, Head of Mathematics at King’s Ely Senior, said: “Eleanor was first brought to my attention when she was in Key Stage 2; her teachers described her as a very gifted student whose mathematical ability was way beyond her age. Over the last five years, Eleanor has tried lots of different mathematical challenges, both national and international. She always goes above and beyond to challenge herself and I am so proud of how much she has and is continuing to achieve.”

To discover more about opportunities at King’s Ely, please visit: www.kingsely.org