I had a very enjoyable time this past weekend in London at the International Schools Mathematics Teachers Foundation (ISMTF) senior mathematics competition that was organized and hosted by the American School in London (ASL). The entire school community of ASL - and especially the mathematics dept did an excellent job running a very successful competition.

My math team also enjoyed the competition (and going around London) but, of course, found it very challenging - as it should be.

The individual and team competitions were held on Saturday - and on Sunday morning before the 'Sunday Chase' event (mixed teams moving around the school solving problems for 'fun') all competition participants and us maths team coaches were treated to a very engaging and humorous presentation on the 4th dimension (amongst other things including the Rubik's Cube and a mathematical way of tying your shoes) by Matt Parker - a London-based former maths teacher who combines serious mathematics with stand-up comedy.  Very entertaining - and mind-stretching.

One of my favorite questions in the team competition is presented below (with some minor editorial changes).    [ click on the eye icon below question to see answer ]

The date for 1 February 2015 can be written in an 8-digit format as 01-02-2015.  In what month is the next soonest date which can be written in the same format using 8 different digits (i.e. no digits can repeat)?