Matías Luengas Vergel He is 16 years old, he studies at Holy Angel of the Guardian School of Cúcuta and has just achieved the most praiseworthy result that a student can obtain in the Saber 11 Tests: 500 points out of 500 possible.
The result was received with celebration at his school and in the city, but for Matías also represents a new starting point for the professional life that he projects.
The young man from Cucuta, passionate about mathematics, now wants to continue his university education and has among his plans study Engineering in Mathematics and, later, become a university professor.
They welcomed him at school with a giant banner. Photo:Screenshot Noticias Caracol
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The questions that made him doubt
Although the final result was perfect, Matías recognizes that During the test there were questions that raised doubts.
In conversation with Caracol Newsparticularly remembered one of the questions from the first session, related to the social sciences, whose answer he managed to identify by discarding. It was the name of the Administrative Board of Afro People.
The other one that raised doubts was in the English section, based on the creation of the first motorcycle. As he explained, it was necessary to carefully analyze the information to arrive at the answer.
“There are questions with which I did not expect 500, I said: not this, it is hard to get it right,” said the student when remembering some of the most demanding moments of the exam.
Precisely, his experience shows that the perfect score does not mean that all the questions were easy for him. Matías had to face questions that made him doubt and He still managed to answer all 500 questions correctly. that make up the overall result of the test.
Mathematics, one of his great passions
One of the keys to his academic career is the affinity he developed with mathematics since he was little.
For Matías, this discipline has something that differentiates it from other areas of knowledge: the possibility of finding an order and results that remain constant.
His affection for this area of knowledge, he assures, comes from order and stability. “Mathematics always works in one way, it is not something that changes, so a calculation will always give the same thing”he explained.
The school recognized his achievement. Photo:Holy Guardian Angel School website
That fascination has not remained only in school classes. During his training, the young man has participated in different academic competitions and has obtained recognitions that anticipated the result he now achieved in the Saber 11 Tests.
From the Olympics to 500 of 500
In 2025, Matías obtained the first place in the Science Olympiad of the University of Santander (UDES).
A year later he excelled again in an academic competition, this time in mathematics. In 2026 he achieved the first place nationally, at an advanced level, in the Mathematics Olympiads of the Industrial University of Santander (UIS). Thus the academic quality of the young minor becomes evident.
Recognitions for their academic achievements. Photo:Social networks
The recognition he received in Cúcuta
The news of the score quickly became cause for celebration at the Santo Ángel de la Guarda School.
His classmates received Matías outside the institution with a large banner to recognize the result, while the school itself published a message in which The management team, teachers, administrators, support staff and students congratulated the young man for obtaining a score of 500 in the Saber 11 Tests.
A career built with discipline
Beyond the competencies and the results of the Icfes, family members and close people Qualities such as discipline, perseverance and his willingness to help other students stand out in Matías. when they have academic difficulties.
His training, according to the local newspaper The Opinion, He started at the Retoñitos Alegres kindergarten and later continued at the Santo Ángel de la Guarda School, an institution where he has developed practically his entire school career.
For his family, the 500 out of 500 is the consequence of a years-long process in which the study habits, family support and the work of their teachers.
Another 500 out of 500 that once again sets its sights on Cúcuta
Matías’ achievement also has a recent history in the same city.
In 2025, another 18-year-old young man from Cucuta, Andrés Felipe López Gutiérrezalso obtained 500 out of 500 in the Saber 11 Tests.
In his case, he reached the result after take the exam three times. Andrés reached the perfect score after several attempts while working in a warehouse, Matías achieved it at the age of 16, during his last school year and after a career marked by his participation in academic Olympics.
They are different stories that have the same exceptional result and that once again highlight the performance of young people trained in Cúcuta.
The beginning of a new stage
The perfect result has already been recorded in Matías’ school career, but his next challenges will be outside of school.
Very soon the minor from Cucuta will have to decide where to continue his studies and how to convert his interest in mathematics into a professional career.
Gabriel Gutierrez
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