Students do not give up Olympiads and competitions, although they do not receive monthly performance scholarships: “Learn to control their emotions”
Although the results at the Olympiads and school competitions no longer bring them monthly performance scholarships this school year, the students' interest in the competitions has not decreased.
The Romanian and Mathematics competition was held in Slatina PHOTO Source: Felicia Alexandru
A Romanian Language and Mathematics competition in its first edition aroused even more interest than the organizers expected. Held over the weekend at the “Radu Greceanu” National College in Slatina, the “Mathematical Creation and Logic” competition brought together 280 competitors from Olt county, who came to Slatina to take the test, and another 363 from schools in eight counties of the country and Bucharest, the latter solving the requirements in the partner schools (“Gheorghe Țițeica” National College – Drobeta-Turnu Severin; “Ion Rădulescu” High School; “George Apostu” National College; “Spiru Haret” National College, Bacău Neamț; Technical High School “IG Duca” Bucharest; “Mircea cel Bătrân” National College, “Ion Luca” High School, Dornei). For many students, joining the two subjects in one test was a challenge. It was also important that the organizers announced prizes for the children with the best overall score, but they also proposed to reward those students who excelled in either the Romanian Language or Mathematics.
As happens in recent years at the national exams, the students in the competition received identification codes, based on which they finally found out their result.
Training for the Olympics
At the gymnasium, the interest in the test was by far much greater. No participation fee was charged and there was no limit on the number of registered students – regarding the number of participants, things would change from the next edition – and thus those who wished could measure their strength in a competition with difficult subjects, elaborated on the pattern of school Olympics. Most of the students saw it that way, as a test before the actual Olympics, and even the organizers (the competition was organized in partnership by the “Radu Greceanu” National College Slatina and the “Eugen Ionescu” Secondary School Slatina) had, at least for the first edition, the same thought.
The Romanian and Mathematics competition was held in Slatina PHOTO Source: Felicia Alexandru
“The County Competition
“In Mathematics, I honestly found it difficult compared to what we do”
Almost without exception, the students I spoke with said that Mathematics gave them more problems. Most of them signed up at the suggestion of the Romanian language teacher, even if they intend to try their hand at the Mathematics Olympiad.
“I came because my mother and I wanted to test my knowledge. The subjects were similar to those of the Olympiad. At Mathematics, I honestly found it difficult compared to what we do. Pretty hard. But it was nice”; “We chose to sign up for the experience as well. To get used to the exam, especially since the exam is in the 8th grade”said two students from the Poboru school. They participated, the students also said, in the past years at the Romanian Language Olympiad, achieving “great” results, one of the girls qualifying for the county stage.
The Romanian and Mathematics competition was held in Slatina PHOTO Source: Felicia Alexandru
“I found it very easy in Romanian, but in Mathematics I encountered some difficulties. I put it there, I solved some of them”was honestly a middle school student. “Romanian is easy, Mathematics is difficult. In Mathematics we do easier problems, here the subjects have exceeded the school curriculum”another student rated the experience. “Hard, especially in Math. Very hard, we didn't do anything like that in class, especially the last problem. In Romanian we did practice tests, but in Mathematics the lady doesn't really want us to go to competitions, she only wants us to take the class tests. We liked it, even the Maths ones, but we didn't have time to do them all. We also had composition in Romanian, we had to think about it”there are other opinions.
Two 7th grade boys assessed that all Mathematics will drag them down in terms of scores: “Too much for the allotted time. That is 15 exercises in Mathematics, and all of which had to be solved, that is three minutes per problem in Mathematics, it was not enough time”; “They were OK, but in class I didn't make the circle and I didn't really know the problems with the circle, I did it in the 6th grade, what do I know, I've known since then.”
Managing his time was the biggest challenge. The secondary school students had two hours allocated to solve the subjects, and their older colleagues, three hours.
“I hope to achieve at least half of the total score. Hard at Mate. That is, average, but in Mate more difficult than in Romanian. The last problem was hard. It was an exam to develop our personal knowledge, not to participate to be practically Olympians. We liked the subjects”, two good friends, students in the 5th grade, at two schools in Slatina, shared their answers.
“It seemed to me like a kind of recap for the next Olympics”, “We occupied the time we were probably wasting on the phone. It was better to come to a competition and develop our knowledge. We would have done problems at home, but sometimes, like this, we are also on the phone. Basically half an hour a day, or an hour, two”, “Online you think that a child can copy from somewhere, but this way, face to face, you realize how much you know. It's an experience more for me, to develop my knowledge, because everyone learns as much as they can”the students continued to answer alternately.
“In Romanian, the subjects were quite simple, but in Mathematics I encountered problems. I think this competition is good for developing our ability to concentrate and manage our time. In Mathematics I solved the last subjects and I didn't have that much time to concentrate. It's training, the subjects in Mathematics at least compete with those of the Olympiad, in Romanian they seemed easier to me than the Olympiad ones. I don't know, 80 decks, about that I expect. I think I have a chance for a higher score in Romanian”, another middle schooler said.
“They are very good children. There are 29 in the class and they want 18 at the Olympics”
Hundreds of parents did it on Saturday, January 17, 2026, the program including the competition in which the child participated. They waited with excitement at the gate of the host high school. There were also teachers, as eager as the parents to hear from the students how they did.
The students said that Mathematics gave them more trouble PHOTO: Alina Mitran
“I signed them up. They said that they found the Romanian language subjects easy, while they had trouble with Mathematics. I say that the topics are similar to what we worked on, because we invented some topics considering the contents, the syllabus. They are very good children. There are 29 in the class and they want 18 at the Olympics. The Romanian language is training for the Olympics. I gave them a test run and I think it will be very hard to choose. I browsed the tests, there are many with the same score, it is difficult for me to make a tie”said teacher Mihaela Popa, from “Gheorghe Magheru” Caracal Secondary School.
Children come from primary school very excited, Prof. Popa explained, but as the years go by, some lose their enthusiasm. Parents and teachers play an important role in this whole process.
“It also depends on us how we keep them trained, but also on them, of course. Until the 4th grade, the family is always present at school, they communicate with the teacher, while from the 5th grade there is a break, they have the impression that they have grown up and, that's it, it's all over. I notice that there is no more interest from the family. But when there is interest, you can see the results in the children”added the teacher.
Dozens of parents waited for their children at the school gate PHOTO: Alina Mitran
There are activities in which family support is also financial, because the parents are the ones who support, for example, materially the effort for all the students in the class to read the same book every month, a project that excites the children. How important the parents' involvement is can be seen in the children's development, the results are no longer as good if the parents' interest decreases.
As for participating in competitions, those with a “face-to-face” presence are preferred by both teachers and students. “Anyway, those who respect themselves as teachers don't divulge their results or anything (ed. – in the case of online competitions), but I think they learn to control their emotions better face to face. Because in the end that leads to everyone's evolution”said teacher Mihaela Popa.
80 students participating in the competition “Mathematical Creation and Logic”, edition I, are to be awarded, it was decided after the evaluation of the works. Only one student managed to obtain the maximum score, 50 points in Romanian Language and 50 points in Mathematics. Eduard Florin Ștefan, the one who managed the performance, is a 5th grade student at the “Nicolae Titulescu” Secondary School in Caracal, and last summer he won first place at the “Copernicus” International Olympiad.
