JSL Learner Recognised in International Mathematical Story Writing Competition

June 10th 2026

A Junior School Leidschenveen (JSL) learner has been recognised for his maths-themed story after being shortlisted in the global Young Mathematical Story Authors (YMSA) competition.

Year 6 learner Ian was shortlisted for his story, When's Our Picnic? in the Stuart J. Murphy Award category for learners aged 8-11. His achievement is particularly impressive given the scale of the competition, which received 2,479 entries from 141 schools across 34 countries this year.

The Young Mathematical Story Authors competition encourages learners to combine creativity, storytelling and mathematical thinking by creating original picture-book stories that explain mathematical concepts in engaging ways. Organised through the MathsThroughStories.org initiative, the competition was introduced to learners at both Junior School Leidschenveen (JSL) and Junior School Vlaskamp (JSV) by the schools' respective Maths Leads, Jared Cawley and Catherine Robertson.

Our mission is to make mathematics teaching more accessible and more enjoyable for learners everywhere through the power of story telling and children's imagination.

– MathsThroughStories.org

So, what is When’s Our Picnic about?

“The protagonist of this story, a boy named John, has an idea. He would like to plan a picnic that includes hotdogs, ice cream and candy floss. The problem is that the truck that deliver these items arrive on different days. John’s friend Alex comes to the rescue. She uses the mathematical concept of Least Common Multiple (LCM) to solve the problem.”
– YMSA Competition page

Commenting on Ian's entry, the judges said:

“Least Common Multiple (LCM) is carefully explained in words, equations and diagrams. The story has a nice flow from beginning to end and includes some welcome humor. Finally, John and his friends are able to plan a picnic that includes the three items listed, and also their favorite dog Sherlock, requiring an added but important extra calculation at the end.

Good job, Ian!”

Ian reflected on the experience:

“My inspiration for the story is when my mind started wandering off when I had no ideas and I just thought of a picnic. ‘Perfect!’ I thought. First, I think it’s quite hard to create a mathematical story picture book as you have to first think of a good plot and then draw pictures (drawing isn’t my best subject).

It did help me deepen my mathematical understanding about Least Common Multiple (LCM) as I had to research a lot about LCM and I learnt new things that I never even heard of before.

In my opinion, Maths teachers should give their students opportunities to create mathematical story picture books during lessons as it is a fun way to learn mathematical concepts.”

Ian was one of six JSL learners to submit entries to the competition, with learners from Junior School Vlaskamp (JSV) also taking part. All participants will receive certificates in recognition of their efforts.

JSL Maths Lead and Year 4 Class Teacher Jared Cawley:

I was absolutely delighted to hear that Ian had been shortlisted in the YMSA competition. Being recognised among over 2,000 entries from schools around the world is a phenomenal achievement.
Thank you, Ian, for bringing JSL to the world stage!

Thank you to both Jared Cawley and Catherine Robertson for creating this opportunity and encouraging learners to take part in the competition.

Congratulations to Ian on this fantastic achievement, and well done to all the BSN learners who took part!