Thai maths marvels clinch gold

Twelve Thai students won eight gold medals in a maths competition held in Hong Kong.

The four teams consisting of 16 Thai primary school students were sent to compete in the Po Lueng Kuk Primary Mathematics World Contest 2017 (PMWC 2017), by the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec).

The student won 19 prizes — 34 medals in total — from three categories: Individual, team of individuals, and team.

Furthermore, students from Suteetorn Kindergarten, which was directly invited by the organiser, also received a Cultural Performance Award.

Nijwadee Jaroenkiatboworn, director of Obec’s Bureau of Educational Innovation Development, said that to help students develop their skills, the office had also organised training sessions to help develop the students’ numeracy skills, equip them with necessary techniques and expose them to a wide range of maths problems.

“In the camp, we were practising solving maths problems. Some of them were hard, but some of them were easy. We tackled the ones we could do first. The ones we couldn’t solve, we got to later,” said Natapach Pattanapeeradech, a contestant from Anuban Nakhon Ratchasima.

“We were helping each other in solving maths questions. If we were unable to solve one of the problems, some of our friends could, and they helped explain and clarify the methods to the others,” said Kantapong Kanjanakuldamrong, a contestant from Anuban Rayong School.

The contest was organised by Po Leung Kuk, a Hong Kong-based charity, and The Education University of Hong Kong.

Its main objectives are to enhance primary school students’ interest in maths and provide an opportunity for cultural and academic exchange for students.