A love of solving mathematical problems and learning the art of the ancient calculating tool the abacus has led to one boy being named to represent Australia in a global mathematics competition.
Ten-year-old Gosnells boy Isaac Njuguna recently went up against more than 100 SEMAS students in a national competition in Perth where he received an overall score of 98.3 per cent and was awarded the champion of his group class.
He was also awarded the major trophy on the day of Champion of Champions.
Isaac started participating in SEMAS classes, an advanced syllabus in abacus and mental arithmetic education, about two years ago after his mother Pennie saw an advertisement for a free trial.
Mrs Njuguna said from the moment he started the classes he enjoyed every minute of them and was motivated to come home and practice his equations.
“He is not one that likes to sit still but if you give him the abacus he will sit there for hours,” she said.
Isaac will travel to Amsterdam in April next year with his mother, father Andrew and his younger sister Naomi in tow.
Over the course of three days Isaac will compete against other SEMAS international representatives and will complete two exams, the first one which consists of 60 sums to be completed in eight minutes with the abacus and the second with 40 sums to be completed in five minutes without the abacus.
Isaac said he was looking forward to the opportunity to compete against others from around the world.
“I am hoping to place in the top three but I know I am going to have to practice a lot so I can get faster on the abacus,” he said.
Mrs Njuguna said the family had been organising a few fundraisers to assist with the registration fees, uniform fees and travel costs associate with the trip.
To help call Pennie on 0417 170 433.
