Ref. 28190-32Wroughton schoolboy Robert Sullivan is a mathematical genius in the making and has the trophy to prove it.

Robert, 12, was crowned the Dodecahedron champion after beating off competition from hundreds of other children in the South West.

And his head for numbers runs in the family. His mother Sarah is a calculation technician at Zurich and his father Kevin works in IT.

The Ridgeway School pupil said: "I was very surprised when they said I had won. I thought the earlier rounds of the competition were more difficult than the final.

"We had to carry out investigations about a subject and find out as much as possible. We looked at stacking pipes and different shapes."

Robert, from Wanborough, added: "I haven't really thought about what I want to do when I'm older but I think I would like to go to university.

"I might study maths but I also like English and music. I play the clarinet."

The competition, which is called the Dodecahedron a 12-sided shape because all entrants are 12-years-old, has been running for 14 years. It is organised by Dauntsey's School, near Devizes.

Mike Ritchley, head of maths at Dauntsey's School, said: "We invite all the best young mathematicians to enter from about 200 schools in the region.

"It's not necessarily about what they have learned at school, but asks them to solve problems and look into investigations.

"Normally pupils are given accolades for sport or music but this competition offers the chance for academic achievements to be recognised, other than just once a year at prize giving.

"Robert is in good company. Previous winners have gone on to get firsts from Oxford and Cambridge."

Mrs Sullivan, 40, said: "We are absolutely delighted and very proud that he won but he said he enjoyed the day even before he knew he had won.

"He was lucky that the Ridgeway let him go for the day and take part in the event. He really was shocked when he won. It was lovely to see his little face when they announced it."

Robert's headteacher Elizabeth Cooper said: "Robert has done exceptionally well and we are very proud of his achievements."

How well would you do with these questions?

1) The sum of John and Anne's ages in 44. In four years time their ages will b in the ration 6:7. How old is John now?

a) 20 b) 24 c) 18 d) 26 e) 22

2) A train is 1/2 mile long, and is moving with a speed of 45mph. How long will it take the train to go through a mile-long tunnel?

a) 0.375minutes b) 0.75minutes c) one minute d) two minutes e) 22.5minutes

3) Piffling Pizzas sell pizzas with diameters four inches, six inches, eight inches and 10 inches for £2, £4, £8 and £12 respectively. If the pizzas all have the same thickness, which size will give the most pizza for £1?

a) four inch b) six inch c) eight inch d) 10 inch e) all the same

4) At a hockey training camp there are eight boys, four of whom are goalkeepers. How many different ways can they be split up into two groups of equal size so that each group contains exactly two goalkeepers?

a) 64 b) 32 c) 18 d) 16 e) 12

Alex Emery