A 10-year-old boy has won gold in a national maths challenge –proving he is one of the best young mathematicians in the UK.

A 10-year-old boy has won gold in a national maths challenge –proving he is one of the best young mathematicians in the UK.

Deep Mankani – who is a pupil at Giles Junior School in Stevenage – was one of the highest scorers in the first round of The Mathematical Association’s Primary Mathematics Challenge, which saw 63,000 children take part and answer a variety of multiple choice mathematics problems.

As a result of his high score, Deep was among the 1,803 children invited to take part in a bonus round, where he was one of just 93 to clinch a gold award.

He said: “It was a good experience and challenged my brain. I feel proud of myself.”

Deep’s mum, Anita Motwani, said: “It feels nice when all that passion in him takes him somewhere. I feel humbled and am proud of him.”

His achievement has also been applauded by his school, with his hard work and academic application coming to fruition on a national platform.

Deputy head Kirsty Badham said: “We are all extremely proud that Deep has won a gold award.

“It is such an achievement to receive recognition for mathematical ability on a national scale.

“A number of children at the school enjoyed taking part in the challenge and, most importantly, it shows them that maths can be fun.”

Lesley Jones, from The Mathematical Association, added: “We would like to offer our congratulations to Deep and all of the pupils who participated.

“We received a large number of entries, which reflects a real appetite for solving maths problems and puzzles.

“We always try to make the questions interesting and accessible, while giving pupils an opportunity to apply fundamental maths skills.

“It is great to be able to acknowledge brilliant young minds in the UK and nurture the future mathematicians.”

The Primary Mathematics Challenge is aimed at pupils in Year 5 and 6 to encourage enthusiasm and boost confidence in maths, with problem solving a means of helping pupils develop their reasoning skills.

The next Primary Mathematics Challenge takes place the week beginning November 13. Visit www.primarymathschallenge.org.uk for more information