Abbey College Cambridge Main Entrance

Abbey College Cambridge Maths teams placed first and second in the UK in the Naboj

14th December 20

Four teams from Abbey College Cambridge are celebrating an impressive performance in this years’ Naboj Online International Maths competition.

The Naboj is an international Mathematics competition organised by a group of European universities that include the Universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh and Glasgow from here in the UK. Teams consist of five students who compete against other school teams to solve as many given mathematical problems as possible in 120 minutes.

The Náboj is not just a direct application of the knowledge the students already have. The problems set require a certain amount of inventiveness and ingenuity. Success in the competition does not only depend on the individual abilities of the team members but also on their teamwork. Apart from enhancing imagination and logical reasoning the goal is to attract people to the endless beauty hidden in mathematics.

Abbey College Cambridge’s two senior student teams came 1st and 2nd in the UK respectively, and our two junior teams came 5th and 6th in the junior competition, meaning that the college supplied 4 of the top ten Naboj teams in the UK this year! The top ranked Abbey College Cambridge college team also ranked an impressive 57th place in the world competing against 363 other schools and colleges from countries like Poland, Germany and Romania.

Competing in the first placed team, were three members of the Lorusso Notaro Francesco family; Victoria, Juan Francisco and Agustin.  They worked with Trevor and Jaeha and were understandably excited to achieve first place.  Victoria commented “I really enjoyed taking part in this competition. As a team, communication and commitment are key and I feel like we were able to accomplish these which is why we were able to succeed”.  Juan Francisco added “I was delighted to participate as I was able to share with my teammates my passion for maths that I discovered from an early age. What particularly motivated me was that we competed against other teams in a national and international way with people that are as enthusiastic for maths as me.” Finally Agustin commented “Everyone of us was committed to achieving a great result, making really fun to solve these problems as a team”.

Speaking about the students remarkable achievements in this years Naboj, the Abbey College Cambridge Mathematics Department was justifiably proud: “It is an outstanding achievement that both senior teams took 1st and 2nd place and our junior team took 5th and 6th place in the UK against some very prestigious schools. The students gave their free time to work together and achieve excellence. It shows not only their mathematical ability but their ability to communicate effectively with each other under pressure. We are immensely proud of all participating students and hope to continue their legacy of success in future years. “

Many congratulations to everyone who competed.