Alex Chui, a student at Tonbridge School, earned a perfect 42 out of 42 at the 2026 International Mathematical Olympiad. The result was part of a longer record: the report described it as his seventh olympiad medal and his fifth gold, with medals earned across seven consecutive years.

A perfect score can make mathematical achievement look sudden, but olympiad problems usually reward a slower kind of progress. Students learn to try an approach, find the point where it fails, and return to the problem with a more precise question. The work is less about applying a familiar formula than identifying a structure hidden inside the prompt.

That is why olympiad-style problems can be useful even when students are not preparing for a competition. A teacher can give a class one problem with several possible starting points and ask students to compare their reasoning. The goal is not to make every student reach the same method; it is to make the method visible.

The story also offers a healthier picture of expertise. Repeated participation gives students opportunities to encounter ideas that were initially too difficult, then revisit them with more experience. Improvement may happen in small steps that are difficult to see until a major result brings them together.

For younger students, the practical takeaway is simple: difficult problems are invitations to investigate, not evidence that someone does or does not belong in mathematics. The most valuable skill may be learning how to stay with a question long enough for a new idea to appear.

Source: The Guardian report on the 2026 International Mathematical Olympiad

‍