A Ross-on-Wye teenager is ranked among the leading mathematicians for his age in the country.

Ben Skailes, aged 16, will be attending a United Kingdom (UK) Mathematics Trust’s National Mathematics Summer School in Leeds.

The Monmouth School for Boys’ pupil is a whizz with the subject and took the Edexcel IGCSE Mathematics examination when he was just 10 years old, achieving an A* grade.

Ben shone in the recent UK Mathematics Trust’s Intermediate Mathematical Challenge, finishing in the top 1.5% of 270,000 children who sat the exam.

Only 200 children – 100 boys and 100 girls – have been invited to attend the summer schools.

Ben, who is in Year 11, is following in the footsteps of former Monmouth pupils Dan Smith and Will Underwood, who were selected for the prestigious summer school.

Alistair Dawson, maths teacher at Monmouth School for Boys, said: “Following in Dan Smith’s and Will Underwood’s footsteps, Ben has done incredibly well to be invited to a UK Mathematics Trust Summer School.

“Fifty of our boys sat the Intermediate Mathematical Challenge and Ben was the only one who qualified for the more difficult follow-on round, the Olympiad.

“Ben had to answer six very challenging questions in a three-and-a-half-hour paper and achieved a merit.”

Ben said: “I have done a fair amount of work to get through various Maths exams and tests over the years.

“Hopefully, this summer’s residential trip to Leeds will provide me with some new aspects and different areas of maths.”

At university, Ben is planning to study a course related to Maths or Physics.

Shona Raffle-Edwards, Enrichment Coordinator from UK Mathematics Trust, said: “Ben will spend the week in Leeds with some of the country’s best mathematicians for his age.

“A total of 270,000 boys and girls from across the country sat the Intermediate Challenge and only 200, including Ben, have been selected to take part in the National Mathematics Summer School.”