Competitions like the Australian Maths Olympiad are challenging for any student. But Kimberley’s prior study of the Kumon Mathematics programme made this event far easier than it otherwise would have been.
Kimberley, in Year 8 at school, studies Kumon Mathematics five years ahead of her school grade. She comfortably learns calculus with Kumon at the age of 13. Kimberley said this advanced study helped her greatly in her April 2021 Maths Olympiad experience.
“Kumon’s taught me quite a variety of useful techniques that can easily be applied to Maths Olympiad questions”, Kimberley said.
“Especially the algebra related questions, I really enjoy solving those now. And, although Maths Olympiad questions are worded problems, the basics from Kumon are still there. If you know the basics, you can easily solve the questions”.
The Australian Maths Olympiad is a two-day Olympiad-level contest comprising of four questions each day and conducted under school supervision. Around 200 of the highest achieving students from across Australia and New Zealand are invited to participate each year.
Kimberley hopes to pursue a career in technology when she grows up, though she says this preference may change. Regardless, she believes numbers will always play an important role in her future.
“Mathematics is already a major part of society. We use it all the time, although some of us may not realise it”, Kimberley said.
“I believe that the content I’m learning at Kumon will greatly benefit me later in life, because maths is and will forever remain an important part of my life, especially in my future career.”
John, her father, said he enrolled Kimberley into Kumon to extend her academic abilities.
“Kimberley was bright and was getting bored at school”, John said. “We just felt that she needed that extension”.
John says Kumon has benefited his daughter tremendously, especially when she transitioned to high school.
“The transition to high school was so much easier, because she was confident in the fact that she knew the subject matter”, John said.