About Us
With over a decade of teaching experience, Leading Aces Academy offers high-quality online mathematics and programming education for students of all ages and skill levels. Our courses are designed to provide a systematic learning experience, ensuring students build a strong foundation while progressively mastering more advanced concepts and problem-solving techniques. Our diverse offerings cater to every learner's needs, from foundational courses for elementary students to advanced preparation for international Olympiad competitions. We are confident you will find the perfect class to help you reach your goals!
Foster a Community for Education
To build a love of learning collectively and share the beauty of knowledge.
Learn and Grow
To cultivate our students' critical thinking skills and emphasize the value of hard work and dedication.
Make Education Accessible
To provide opportunities and resources for every child to learn.
Xiangtao (Eddy) Liu
Master of Quantitative Finance at the University of Waterloo
Bachelor of Mathematics with Honours in Pure Mathematics at the University of Waterloo
Eddy began coaching mathematics competitions at Toronto Math Circles in 2013. Under his guidance, students have achieved remarkable success in prestigious competitions such as the American Regions Mathematics League (ARML) and the Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament (HMMT). He currently serves as the head coach of Ontario’s ARML and HMMT teams.
Eddy has also played a pivotal role in training most of Canada’s past European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO) team members and several International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) team members. Several of his students have attended top universities, including MIT and Harvard. See the Achievements section for a list of past top students.
Over the years, Eddy has actively contributed to various competition problem committees, helping design, refine, and grade problems for regional, national, and international contests.
In his spare time, Eddy supports the mathematics community as a volunteer consultant for student-run organizations such as the Ontario Competitive Mathematics Committee and Tops Online Judge, where he provides guidance to students interested in competitive mathematics. He also regularly gives free workshops at high school math clubs, math camps, and hackathons.
Outside of math, Eddy is an avid skier, runner, and hiker.
Online Classes
All our classes are conducted online. While onsite classes can be more fun and engaging, they often come with drawbacks like wasted travel time and potential distractions from disruptive peers, which can affect the pace of the class. Online classes eliminate these issues, allowing both teachers and students to focus without disruptions. Moreover, online classes can cover more material than onsite sessions.
Integrated Learning Management System
We use an in-house, custom-built learning management system (LMS) that contains all course information, including recordings and handouts, and handles assignment submissions and grading. Students will gain immediate access upon enrollment.
Weekly Take-Home Quizzes
Research shows that weekly quizzes are more effective for learning compared to large exams. Therefore, most of our courses include a weekly take-home quiz. This approach maximizes learning while preventing valuable class time from being spent on lengthy tests.
Graded Assessments
Research consistently demonstrates that providing feedback is crucial for improving student learning and performance. Our courses offer immediate feedback on the correctness of short answer questions, as well as written feedback from an instructor or TA for full solution questions.
Homework Support Class
Although we post solutions for all homework assignments, many courses also offer a free weekly homework support class. In this class, teachers review the homework and quiz material. Even if you’ve mastered the problems, we highly recommend attending these sessions, as teachers often offer better, more efficient solutions.
Recordings
Class recordings are made available to students at the end of each week. This feature allows students to catch up on missed lessons or revisit difficult concepts at their convenience.
Community and Student Events
Our vibrant Discord community connects students with classmates, teachers, and graders for ongoing discussions about homework, hints, and course content. We also host regular educational and fun events, such as contests and advent calendars, to keep students engaged.
In-Class Activities
Most courses include in-class activities to engage students. When concepts are taught, students are given practice questions to test their understanding. They will have the opportunity to answer the questions themselves and submit their responses for immediate feedback. The instructor can view the class's results in real time and adjust the question take-up approach accordingly.
Peer-grading Practice Sets
Math Olympiad students are automatically enrolled in our complementary peer-grading practice system. Full contest practice sets are provided periodically, allowing students to practice in a contest setting (timed and graded). Afterward, rubrics are provided for each question, and participants are randomly matched to give solution feedback to one another.
Points System
We use a points and achievement system to encourage student engagement, motivation, competition, and participation. Students earn points by submitting correct answers for homework, quizzes, and in-class activities. They can also earn badges for contest achievements.