School Staffer Outperforms Students in Pi Recitation Contest
Granby, Quebec – A school surveillance officer stunned students at Haute-Ville High School on Friday, March 13, 2026, by reciting more decimal places of Pi than any of the participating students. The unusual contest, now in its second year, challenges participants to accurately recall and write as many digits of the mathematical constant as possible within a 20-minute time limit.
André Giroux, a 63-year-old former hospitality worker, memorized 520 decimal places of Pi, surpassing the student winner by a significant margin. “I was super nervous,” Giroux said after the event. He attributes his success to repeatedly reciting the digits while walking the school hallways, where a portion of Pi was displayed on a banner.
While Giroux’s performance was remarkable, the official winner of the student competition was Tomas Deslandes, a fifth-year student, who correctly recited 469 decimal places. Other students as well participated, with Thomas Forand achieving 302, William Baril with 103, Mohamed Kamal with 83, and Shawn Jeannotte with 82. The event underscores the school’s commitment to engaging students with challenging academic pursuits.
The contest was organized by math teacher Élise Dufresne, who also installed a large banner displaying the first 268 decimals of Pi in a school corridor to aid student preparation. “As long as I was walking, I was repeating it in my head,” Giroux explained, adding that he could recite up to 700 digits orally, but writing them proved more difficult. “Orally, I can travel up to 700, but in writing, it was more difficult. I had a blank for five minutes!”
Deslandes expressed some disappointment with his performance, noting he had dedicated considerable time to practicing. According to rankings, Deslandes’ score would place him 416th worldwide. The school record remains at 550 decimal places, set by Danika during the first edition of the competition. Organizers have already announced plans for a third contest next year.
The event concluded with participants and spectators sharing a cake decorated with the Pi symbol. More details about the event are available on M105.ca.
The original report on the contest appeared in Le Soleil.
Additional information can be found on the Centre de services scolaire du Val-des-Cerfs website.
