About Tony

Tony's love for maths started in his childhood, where he could often be seen reading Murderous Maths books in his free time. All of this started to pay off in high school, where he won many awards in numerous competitions, such as achieving high distinctions and winning prizes in ICAS, AMC, and Mathex and throughout the years. In 2015, after he had discovered Olympiad maths, he became the youngest person that year to attend the NZ Maths Olympiad camp, where he was also selected for the training squad, consisting of the top 12 young mathematicians in NZ. In the same year, he also came first in the Otago Junior Maths Competition. By 2018, he had represented New Zealand twice in the IMO, winning an honourable mention in 2017 and a bronze medal in 2018.

Tony wins a bronze medal at the 2018 IMO

Following these successes, Tony went to study mathematics at Imperial College London in 2018. While there, he remained active in the Maths Olympiad scene. In 2019, he founded the Mathematical Olympiad Discord Server, an online platform for mathematical problem-solving now with over 19k members which he still runs. In the same year, he also won the Imperial–Cambridge Mathematics Competition, a UK-wide undergraduate mathematics competition. He would go on to run the competition starting later that year, and he is currently charing the 9th edition of the competition. In 2020, amid COVID restrictions, he returned to NZ, which was when he started tutoring.

Over the years, his students have ranged from 8 years old to university age, but he has always focused on teaching Olympiad mathematics, which he believes is far more beneficial for mental growth than regular school mathematics. Several of his students have made it to the New Zealand Maths Olympiad camp, including one who won a bronze medal at the IMO. He has also been invited to lecture at the 2023 Olympiad Summer Camp in Ghana, and the 2026 Olympiad Training camp in Bhutan.

Tony trains the Bhutan 2026 winter camp

Throughout all this time, he has also been actively involved in the New Zealand Maths Olympiad. He regularly lectures at the January maths camps, including at the start of 2026, and he has been involved with squad and team training. He is part of the New Zealand Mathematical Olympiad Committee.

Tony believes that Olympiad mathematics is the best way to develop quantitative problem-solving skills and the kind of creative thinking that is most applicable to the world today. Whereas school maths teaches you the vocabulary and grammar of mathematics, Olympiad mathematics teaches you how to create your own ideas using the language of mathematics, and how to truly think mathematically. To this end, while many other tutors focus on theory and problems, Tony balances that with problem-solving strategies, higher maths, and historical and mathematical context. Six years into tutoring, Tony continues to build on his collection of handouts and courses, and refine his pedagogy to most effectively help his students master, and inspire a passion for, mathematical thinking.