Following his A Level examinations this summer, Year 13 student, Alex Chui, travelled to Shanghai to represent the UK at the 2026 International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) – the world’s most prestigious mathematics competition for school-age students. Now in its 67th year, the International Mathematical Olympiad is described by the UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) as, “the oldest, largest, and most prestigious of all the international science Olympiads”, with problems that are “notoriously difficult”.
Held over two days, from 15–16 July, this year’s competition included 666 contestants from over 110 countries. Competitors tackled two four-and-a-half-hour examination papers, each featuring three increasingly challenging problems spanning topics including algebra and geometry.
Alex delivered an extraordinary performance, earning his fifth IMO gold medal – making him one of just seven competitors to achieve a perfect score and one of the fifty-five gold medals this year.
This cements his place in IMO history as the competition’s most decorated participant, having won five gold medals and two silver medals across his IMO career.
He reflected, “Taking part in the IMO has been an incredible experience, allowing me to challenge myself mathematically and meet people from around the world who share the same passion for mathematics.”
Dr Dominic Yeo, Senior Lecturer in Mathematics at King’s College London and the UK’s IMO Team Leader, praised both the difficulty of the competition and Alex’s achievement. “IMO problems are always challenging, and finding the right approaches to this year’s hardest tasks was genuinely demanding,” he said. “To have solved every problem perfectly at IMO 2026 is a formidable achievement, and Alex’s five Gold medals are a reflection of his hard work over many years, and remarkable problem-solving creativity.”
The UK team also included five other students whose joint performance earned them eighth place as a national team. The UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) selects each year’s team through a rigorous programme including two national rounds, followed by a series of intensive training camps.
Dr Geoff Smith, Chair of Trustees at UKMT, said the UK team’s success was a source of pride for everyone who values excellence in education and mathematical thinking. While commending the performances of all six team members, he described Alex’s accomplishment in becoming the most decorated IMO contestant of all time as “astonishing”.
For Tonbridge School’s Head of Mathematics, Owen Elton, Alex’s final Olympiad performance was a fitting conclusion to an exceptional school career, “Alex has capped his unprecedented IMO career with a perfect score. He is the only competitor ever to have won seven medals, so is likely to top the Hall of Fame for decades.” He added that everyone in the School’s Mathematics Department was absolutely thrilled for Alex and wished him every success when he takes up his place at the University of Cambridge.
Owen continued, “Alex’s incredible achievement reflects a thriving mathematical ethos at Tonbridge School. Students are always keen to pit their wits against their peers in the UKMT’s excellent individual competitions, and we are proud of the medals in national Olympiads that they reliably achieve.
Both our senior and junior teams reached the Team Maths challenge national finals of their respective team maths challenges held in Manchester this year, with Alex and senior team counterparts gaining equal first place. This follows Tonbridge’s enduring place at the top of world rankings in the annual Trinity Maths Competition, an online problem-solving contest”
The track record of Tonbridge students in Maths Olympiads is also reflected in the national leaderboards for Sciences, Economics, AI, Humanities, Art, creative writing and filmmaking. Enrichment opportunities coupled with expert extension provided in and out of the classroom, with hotly contested academic House competitions bring an added depth to School life.
Together, these experiences result in our students being highly sought after for coveted places at the world’s leading universities around the world, including Oxbridge and the Ivy League.
Alex summed this up by saying, “My time at Tonbridge allowed me to explore my interests in mathematics in depth, and the support and encouragement I have received from my teachers has been invaluable in helping me develop further.”
To find out more about Tonbridge School visit www.tonbridge-school.co.uk
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