Avondale College is celebrating the success of one of our Year 11 students, Jerry Nguyen, who has just learned he has won a bronze medal in the prestigious New Zealand Mathematics Olympiad competition!
The award places him in the top 40 of all the New Zealand contestants - including those in Years 12 and 13!
It's an outstanding result for the 15 year old, says teacher Mr Paul Boardman.
"Jerry getting an invite to take part in the second round of the competition was a great achievement, but for him to receive a bronze medal is fantastic. It puts him among the very top participants in New Zealand. This is a great reflection of Jerry's hard work throughout the year."
Jerry says he was thrilled to hear the good news.
"I was really happy and amazed when I saw my result. After I did the test, I thought if I could do it well then everyone else must have - so I was really happy when I heard my result!"
Perhaps encouragingly for some, Jerry says he wasn't always good at maths.
"I was really scared of doing mathematics at first when I was younger so I started doing more maths problems and began enjoying maths," he says.
Next year he is looking forward to studying not only Maths but other subjects like Physics and ICT. He has his eye on the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championships, and is challenging himself to try and do even better in next year's Olympiad!
This is Jerry's first year at Avondale College, having come from Vietnam as an international student at the start of the year. He says although there have been some challenges due to Covid, he has really enjoyed studying here.
"I have made many new friends and worked with very helpful and caring teachers. I have learnt many new things from the subjects I take. I want to say thank you to the school for giving me the opportunity to study in such a wonderful college."
