Please see below the speech presented by Zoe Y. of Year 8 and Jaxon R-N. of Year 7 to our High School assembly on 21 October:

Today, we’d like to take a moment to recognise the achievements of our Years 7 and 8 students who participated in the Australian Maths Olympiad.

For those who may not be familiar with it, the Maths Olympiad is a mathematics competition designed to challenge students beyond the standard school curriculum. Rather than simply testing how quickly we can calculate or how well we can remember formulas, it asks us to approach unfamiliar problems, recognise patterns, and think creatively.

And that’s what makes the Olympiad so valuable. It teaches us to be patient when a solution isn’t immediately obvious, to learn from mistakes, and to keep exploring different possibilities. It reminds us that mathematics isn’t just about getting the right answer — it’s about developing the confidence and persistence to tackle problems we haven’t encountered before.

We’re very proud of everyone who took on this challenge, and today we’d like to recognise some particularly outstanding results. Please hold your applause to the end.

In third place, with 6 points each, we have four Year 8 students: Zayd M., Anouck A., Bodhi A. and Isabella I. Congratulations to all four of you.

In second place, with 7 points each, we have Jaxon R-N. from Year 7 and Zara D. from Year 8. Well done to both of you for your excellent results.

And finally, in first place, with 11 points, we have Zoe Y. from Year 8. Congratulations on an outstanding performance. Let's congratulate these students.

This year, there have also seen some additional achievements worth celebrating. I was fortunate enough to receive a certificate recognising a result in the top 25% of achievers across Australia. In addition, Jackson and I each received a medal for being the highest achievers in our respective year levels at Glenaeon. In consequence, we are both very grateful for this recognition.

These results reflect not only mathematical ability, but also the curiosity, dedication and willingness to take on challenges that we hope to encourage throughout our school community.

So, congratulations once again to all our award recipients, and to everyone who participated. We hope these achievements inspire more students to explore mathematics, embrace challenges and enjoy the process of discovering something new.