Rotorua student bound for International Mathematical Olympiad

To say Ishan Nath is good at maths would be an understatement.

The 15-year-old is one of only six Kiwis selected to represent the country at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Romania in July.

Students from more than 100 countries compete to solve six maths problems.

Sound simple? It's not.

"You're given four and a half hours to solve three problems ranging from relatively easy to relatively hard," Ishan said.

"I say relatively because they are all hard. And you do that two days in a row."

Ishan Nath, 15, has been selected to represent New Zealand at the International Mathematical Olympiad in Romania. Photo / Stephen Parker

Ishan said the olympiad was "the top of the chain" for maths competitions.

"I would say it's a lifetime of preparing. You need to develop a love for math if you want to do it. You're not going to it if you don't have an innate love for it."

Ishan is part of a team of six going to the olympiad in Cluj-Napoca in Romania. The members all compete individually and each problem is worth seven points.

Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded to half of the contestants according to their results.

Ishan is aiming to solve at least two of the problems.

"I'm trying to be optimistic," he said.

"To prepare I've just been practising. I have to improve everything if I want to get up to the level I want."

Ishan has to raise $2000 for the trip and has applied for a grant to cover the cost.

During the olympiad students will also hear from former olympiad gold medallists Ciprian Manolescu (UCLA) and Victor Nistor (Universite de Lorraine).

The team:
-Andrew Chen (Saint Kentigern College)
- William Han (Macleans College)
- Johnathan Leung (King's College)
- Keiran Lewellen (Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu)
- Ishan Nath (John Paul College)
- Xutong Wang (Auckland International College).