A Warwick Academy pupil has been named number one after a gruelling test of maths skills.

Anna Francoeur, aged 11, came out on top and scooped the $2000 top prize after 220 schoolchildren took part in the competition, the tenth of its kind.

One of the organisers, Riquette Bonne-Smith of the Centre for Talented Youth Bermuda, said: “It was a great number of entrants for us in our tenth year.

“It was fun and they all seemed to enjoy themselves.”

She was speaking at the end of the Math Olympiad, held at the Berkeley Institute yesterday and held in affiliation with the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore Centre for Talented Youth.

Ms Bonne-Smith said: “We place emphasis on a solid math education for all our students because mathematics equips all students with great tools to understand the world, such as logical reasoning, problem-solving skills and the ability to think in abstract ways.”

The competition is also supported by Dr Sean Ringstead, chief risk officer and chief actuary at ACE and Professor Barry Ferguson of the University of Waterloo in Ontario.

Ms Bonne-Smith said maths remained an important field of study — and not just for those planning a career in the field.

She added: “We see math around us from the airplane we fly in, to mobile phones we use every day and the games we play. None of this would have been possible without mathematics.

“Behind every new technology, advances in science, advances in the economy, environment and public policy, we find mathematics.”

Prof Ferguson said: “At senior level, Bermuda fights the battle that many senior students go elsewhere for their secondary education, but I’m impressed by some of the top kids and what they are able to do.

“There is no reason why they can’t compete on a bigger stage than in Bermuda.”