Multiple reasons to enjoy girls prep win

Whether it’s the honour of being the first all-girl team to win the Y7 Nelson Mathix trophy or small victories like getting one over your twin, Nelson College for Girls Preparatory had multiple reasons to be pleased with themselves.

The four-person team of Grace Roberts, Sarah Cools, Lily El-Sherif and Zoe Brookes took out their category at the annual maths event, held at Motueka High School on August 20.

They are understood to be the first all-girls Year 7 team to take home the cone-shaped trophy in the events history.

’’We don’t need a Christmas tree this year,’’ Brookes said in reference to the dimensions of the trophy.

It is the 18th year the Nelson Marlborough Mathematics Association has held the competition, bringing together the best young mathematicians from across the region.

The 11 to 14-year-olds represented their schools in teams and competed to solve a range of challenging mathematical problems.

Each time they solved one, a team member ran with their answer to the marking panel.

If the answer was correct they received the next problem, while an incorrect answer meant the team had to try again.

The four girls finished their allotted questions four minutes ahead of the second-placed team.

They even had enough time to inadvertently answer the tie-breaker question.

And yes, they got that right too. For Brookes, who was also the team runner, beating her twin brother Sam was just as enjoyable as coming first.

Roberts said the win was put down to teamwork, while Cools said mastering old questions from previous competitions had been a big help in preparing for the event.

The Nelson College Prep equivalents also performed well at the event, with the Year 7 came 3rd and the two Year 8’s teams coming 2nd and 3rd.