Ahmed Abdulsamed, who is in Year 12, completed the maths challenge in his spare time and is now in the running to win £1,500 and a 'money can't buy' prize.

He had to write an essay on how a company could reduce its packaging, showing the maths behind it.

A panel of experts - Lord Robert Winston, Dan Snow, Susie Dent, Kate Bellingham and Matt Parker - judged the entries in each category and Ahmed was selected as one of the top five in the maths section.

He has been invited the awards ceremony at the University of Nottingham on July 6^th, where he will also get involved in workshops on business and enterprise, presentation skills and marketing.

Ahmed, who is studying A Levels in maths, economics, business and IT and is thinking of doing an economics degree after Sixth Form, said: "I thought it was a good opportunity to try something outside school - I didn't think I would get this far.

"It was different because you don't normally write essays in maths so you had to use other skills like English as well."
The Academy Excellence Awards was open to nominated students from up and down the country and the questions were set by experts at the University of Nottingham.

All themed around the issue of sustainability, the essays challenged students to work outside of their regular classroom curriculum, research thoroughly, think laterally and communicate effectively.

It also gave them an opportunity to experience what essay-writing at a higher education level is like.

The other students in Ahmed's category are:

• Landau Forte College - Timothy Wakefield, Year 12
• Longfield Academy - Stephanie Davies, Year 13
• Q3 Academy - Sophie Boyle, Year 13
• Sandwell Academy - Claire Guy, Year 11