SHELLEY SHE and her fellow female maths whizzes have defied the numbers.

Though the subject is more popular with boys, a clean sweep of young women received first in course awards for every mathematics course at a ceremony on Tuesday, as the first tranche of 2012 HSC results was announced.

Shelley topped Mathematics Extension One and Two. More boys attempted these subjects, with enrolments in Extension Two almost two-thirds male.

‘‘I was shocked at first because there’s a lot of competition from guys at my school,’’ said Shelley, who attended the selective James Ruse Agricultural High School.