Mental arithmetic is no problem for Highbury lad

GRADE 5 pupil at Highbury Preparatory School, Stuart Camp, flew the South African flag high when he came first in his level and age category at the Global Association of Japanese Soroban and Mental Arithmetic (GAJMA) 2015 International Competition, held in Chennai, India on 30 August.

The 11 year old won the coveted Champion of Champions Award, beating children from 12 other countries including India, Singapore, Canada and Saudi Arabia.

“My heart was thumping loudly in my chest before the competition,’ said Camp. ‘But I tried my best. When they told me the result I felt shocked. But I am super pleased,” he said.

He was also given an Appreciation Trophy for being one of eight children selected out of the 200 taking part, to do mental arithmetic demonstrations on stage, after a pool of nominated children from different countries sat a stiff mental arithmetic test. Stuart had to multiply ten two digit by two digit number sums in his head in a minute.

He is a pupil of Tracy Hauptfleisch of Abagility Maths Club, with whom he has being studying the Japanese abacus technique of mental arithmetic since the age of six.

“We could not be more proud of Stuart, what an awesome achievement! This comes after hours of hard work and commitment. Stuart has not only shown the ability needed to compete at an international level, but also the determination and drive to achieve this outstanding success,” said his teacher, Tracy.

Stuart’s mother, Sally, said that doing Abigility Maths had boosted her son’s self-esteem, self- confidence and general mental acumen at school.

“I would recommend it to any parent who would like to give their child a head start in life,” she said.