Success once again
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The format of the Tangente High School Students' Prize is now well established. Each year, high school students are offered a selection of books that touch on mathematics without being textbooks. These naturally include essays devoted entirely to a mathematical topic or its history, but also novels and graphic novels whose plots hinge on some element of mathematics. The jury at each participating high school splits into two groups, each reading half the selection. At the end of the first round, each group ranks its books, then entrusts its favorite to the other group. In mid-May, each jury chose its winner.
Once again, nearly sixty schools registered this year, representing around 700 participants. The participating high schools are highly diverse: urban and rural, in mainland France, overseas France or abroad, showing that anyone can embark on this adventure! Above all, the prize enables an exciting range of activities: meetings with authors, cross-curricular collaboration and work with the school library, the creation of posters, reviews and podcasts, further exploration in mathematics lessons, etc. This year, the prize was even discussed on a local radio station in Angers, while a bookseller in Luxeuil-les-bains showcased the selection in the shop window!
The 2024 winners
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The 2024 results were determined by combining the rankings and choices from all the high schools.
This year, our young readers delivered a fairly clear-cut verdict.
Two commendations go to Vous reprendrez bien un peu de maths ? by Claire Lommé (Retz, 2022) and La petite histoire du ballon de foot by Étienne Ghys (Odile Jacob, 2023). Both books were praised for their accessibility and wealth of engaging illustrations.
Finally, the Tangente High School Students' Prize goes to The time before by Cyril Bonin (Bamboo, 2016).
This graphic novel, a firm favorite with many young readers, was praised for the way it weaves mathematics into its plot. The students from Colmar appreciated that "the philosophical discussion of infinity [was] approached in a poetic and literary way, [and] the mathematical content [was] subtly woven into the narrative without being glossed over."
The 2025 PTL is under way!
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Are you a teacher interested in taking part in the PTL next school year?
Don't hesitate—registration is already open!
Here are the eight books on the shortlist:
• Epistémè (volume 1). Pascal Marchand and Jean-Benoît Meybeck, La boîte à bulles, 2023;
• Laurent Schwartz, les engagements d’un médaillé Fields. Emmanuel Marie and Stefano Realdini, Petit à petit, 2024;
• Python. Nathalie Azoulai, POL, 2024;
• Et la pomme ne tomba pas sur la tête de Newton. Antoine Houlou-Garcia, Albin-Michel, 2024;
• Pourquoi est-on penché dans les virages ? Amandine Aftalion, CNRS éditions, 2023;
• Les modèles mathématiques de Midam, Daniel Justens, Dupuis, 2024;
• Fermat Kitchen (volume 1), Yûgo Kobayashi, Mangetsu, 2023;
• Stella Maris. Cormac McCarthy, Éditions de l'Olivier, 2023.
The publishers are offering a complete set of the shortlisted books to the first ten high schools registering for the first time. For more information, visit
