Australian Kumon student wins second consecutive gold medal in SEAMO
For 11-year-old Gavin Dissanayake, Kumon provided him with the study skills and fundamental mathematics and English ability to excel in the NSW selective school entrance examination and win his second consecutive gold medal at the Southeast Asian Mathematical Olympiad.
Gavin outside James Ruse Agricultural High School.
In addition to almost topping the selective examination, Gavin achieved 100 percent in the mathematics and English components of the test. This meant he had more than enough marks to achieve entry into the highly selective James Ruse Agricultural High School.
Gavin says his prior study of the Kumon Mathematics and English programmes were invaluable to his preparation for this examination.
“The maths exam was very easy because I’d progressed so far in Kumon,” Gavin says. “For reading, because Kumon English builds comprehension, that was very helpful as well.”
Gavin was also the only Australian student to win a gold medal in SEAMO Paper C this year, an international mathematics competition with over 50,000 students from 22 countries participating. He says Kumon Mathematics helped him here too.
“SEAMO has some advanced topics, but Kumon has much more advanced stuff,” Gavin says. “And the skills involved in Kumon, like self-learning, were very useful. There was also plenty of time left in SEAMO and the selective exam because of the time management skills I developed through Kumon.”
Gavin currently studies Kumon Mathematics more than five years ahead of his school grade. He is currently studying calculus, which is covered in the highest levels of Kumon Mathematics. Gavin studies Kumon English more than three years ahead of his school grade. Vimasha, his mother, says she enrolled him into Kumon in pre-primary to provide him with a head start in his learning.
She believes that Gavin’s Kumon will be of lifelong benefit for him.
“Kumon is about being self-sufficient, learning something quickly and having perseverance; not giving up just because you’ve faced challenges,” Vimasha says.
“You just keep trying until you reach your goal. I will say that the Kumon Method is definitely going to help him in future, well beyond his high school.”
*Gavin is the child of a current Kumon Instructor
