Hamilton schoolboy is named 4th in the world for Maths contest

Mar 18 2010 by Chris Clements, Hamilton Advertiser

A HAMILTON schoolboy has been named fourth in the world in an international maths contest.

Sharan Maiya (11), a Hamilton College pupil, was also named first in the UK and Scotland for his skills on World Maths Day which took place on Wednesday, March 3.

His remarkable achievement will see him being awarded a gold medal after besting an amazing 1,133,246 students from 56,082 schools across the globe.

He will also be placed in the competition’s ‘Hall of Fame’ for the second year running.

Sharan was beaten by only three children - two from Australia and one from United Arab Emirates - in the aged nine to 13 category.

And the Hamilton College pupil beat all other pupils in Britain in the competition.

As part of the competition, children from 235 countries logged on to the website over a 48-hour period to answer a series of maths questions.

Sharan told the Advertiser this week that he was delighted at his success and added: “It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I’m still very excited.

“I do find maths sort of easy, and this was a fun competition. Because they made it like a game, it persuaded me to keep on going.

“I have to work on my maths, but it also comes sort of naturally to me. It really is a bit of both.

“It is not just about answering the questions correctly in the competition. You are tested on your accuracy and your speed.

“You have to be able to calculate very quickly, but you also have to make sure that your speed doesn’t cause you to make a mistake.”

Sharan - who is in J7 at Hamilton College - explained this week that he wants to become an entrepreneur when he is older.

Maths isn’t his only skill, as he has recently won awards for playing the saxophone at Glasgow Music Festival and is also a keen golfer.

He continued: “I’m going to keep going with my maths work for as long as I can.

“I have had great help from my parents and also my teachers at Hamilton College, particularly Mr Arbuckle.

“They have all encouraged me and helped me along with my work.”

Sharan’s mother Sue Maiya told the Advertiser this week that she is very proud of her son’s success.

She added: “It’s fantastic for him to be number four in the entire world for his age group.

“The World Maths Day people are sending his medal from Australia.

“We are so proud of him and, given that he is only 11, he deserves all the credit.”

However, Sharan is not the only child from Hamilton College to triumph in the prestigious competition.

Seven-year-old Charlie Greener reached 98th place in the world for the aged five to eight category - a remarkable achievement given there were over one million contestants - and will also be placed in the competition’s ‘Hall of Fame’.

Charlie’s sister Olivia Greener (11) was also involved in the event.

She was chosen to be one of two Scottish ambassadors for World Maths Day 2010.

In the role, she had to promote and encourage schoolchildren throughout Scotland and the UK to participate online on World Maths Day.

Olivia was a guest on Real Radio, invited MSP Margaret Mitchell to the school, and visited local primary schools.