Maths virtuoso Israel Sanchez is contemplating a bright future in civil engineering as graduation draws near.The S4 CedarBridge Academy student has been accepted into the engineering programme at Canada’s McGill University.As a result the 16-year-old Devonshire resident has spent his final CedarBridge year immersed in mathematics.He was singled out for commendation by Education Minister Dame Jennifer Smith in December, having achieved a perfect score in maths in the college placement test (CPT).“As far as I know, a perfect score on the CPT is a first,” CedarBridge deputy principal Anthony Wade said. “It’s a phenomenal achievement. But that’s how Israel is. I often find him here in the library, doing maths just for fun.”Israel is characteristically understated on his perfect score.“I guessed a couple of the questions,” he said.He studies maths at the Centre for Talented Youth where last Sunday he won the Math Olympiad competition for his year group.Israel has also just come out near the top of the class in a Bermuda College pre-calculus course.Maths lecturer Dana Lightbourne said: “Mathematics is cumulative in nature, so a student’s ability to retain information from previous courses is key to being successful.“Consequently, several times during class sessions, it is necessary to ascertain the students’ prior knowledge. Israel was one of only two students who consistently proved that his math foundation was solid.“He was more than ready to take the course. I knew he would do well.”Describing him as “quiet, but confident”, she added: “He was a pleasure to teach and he aced every exam, including the final.”Israel describes civil engineering as “a profession where you design and build the structures that support peoples’ lifestyles”.He said: “That covers a broad area. My family are very supportive of it; they always want to see someone in the family do something [that is] new in the family.“Bridge building always comes to mind with civil engineering. But I’m going to go into general engineering, so I can choose what to do later on. I just enjoy maths, and civil engineering seemed like the best thing to do with it.”Israel said he is the only one in his family with a love of maths, describing older brother Jorge as “more of a biologist”.His father, Jorge Sr, is a technician at Dunkley’s Dairy. Israel said his mother, Tania, “nudges me toward oil mining”.“I don’t know if I will disappoint her there. It’s not really the most environmentally friendly line of work.”With much of his family living in Ecuador, Israel also hopes to spend part of the summer there taking a break from studies.“My family is from a city called Puyo. I’m hoping to go, but with all these applications for visas to Canada and study permits, it could be difficult.“I go there quite often, just to relax with family. Normally I speak English but when I’m with the rest of my family it’s all Spanish.”Bridge building or oil mining aside, Israel said he has no idea yet where engineering could take him.“Bermuda would be an interesting place to work as a civil engineer. There are so many space constraints here. We don’t have anywhere to build. It would be a challenge.”Useful websites: www.mcgill.ca, www.webmath.com.