The 38th Inter-School Mathematics Contest, organised by the Hong Kong Joint School Mathematics Society (HKJSMS), was successfully held on 28 March at CityUHK. The College of Science (CSCI) and the Department of Mathematics served as venue sponsors and offered full support to facilitate this event. For the first time, the contest brought together participants from Hong Kong, Macau and the Greater Bay Area.
Around 700 participants, including 618 contestants and 60 teachers from about 70 schools in Hong Kong, Macau, and Mainland China attended the event at CityUHK. Individual contestants are required to complete a 2.5-hour paper, and eventually Li Haolin from Diocesan Boys’ School conquered the Junior Individual Division, while Chase Sebastian Russel from St. Joan of Arc Secondary School championed the Senior Individual Division.
St. Joan of Arc Secondary School’s team also took home the Team Champion as they got the highest score in cracking a 2-hour paper. And the Outstanding Participation Award, which recognised the school with the most participants, goes to Fukien Secondary School. The top female contestants in both the Junior and Senior Divisions have received the Outstanding Female Contestant Award, a newly established award this year with an aim of promoting gender diversity and inclusive development within the STEM field.
Professor Jon Lo from CityUHK’s Department of Mathematics was invited to present the awards and host a sharing session. He shared personal experience in finding the right direction for his career and encouraged the students to explore with courage and not be afraid to try and make mistakes. He also introduced the various opportunities offered by CityUHK and CSCI, including the Direct Entry Option to Joint Bachelor’s Degree Programme between CityUHK and Columbia University, and the Flagship Programme, Global Research Enrichment and Technopreneurship (GREAT).
The Inter-School Mathematics Contest (ISMC) is an annual contest organised by the HKJSMS, aiming to arouse students’ interest in mathematics through challenging questions and interesting puzzles. Full-time secondary school students aged 19 or below studying Form 6 (or equivalent) or below are eligible for ISMC 2026.