THE questions would leave most people flummoxed, yet to Kent teenager Alison Zhu they are as easy as pi.

The 18-year-old A-level student at Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School, Canterbury, is the first girl ever to get the top score in the qualifying competition for the British Mathematical Olympiad.

She has now been chosen for intensive preparation for this year’s International Mathematical Olympiad in Madrid this July and hopes to be selected for the British team.

If Alison is successful it will be the second time she has taken part in the international competition – last year she was in the British squad when they competed in Vietnam.

Alison, who has already been offered a place to study maths at Trinity College, Cambridge, was modest about her mathematical success.

“I only came top because everyone else didn’t do particularly well,” she said.

Test your maths knowledge by trying a sample question. We will publish the mind-blowing answer on Friday.