Worthing school celebrates Maths Week with fun activities

The week began with the year 8 cohort heading into Brighton, where they got a 360 degree view of the city, beach and the South Downs from the i360, putting their problem solving skills to the test in the Pier Pressure escape rooms, and experiencing the wacky geometry of the Paradox Place House of Illusions.

Each year, year 9 students get the chance to visit the historic Bletchley Park site in Milton Keynes. During the Second World War, Bletchley Park was the top-secret centre for British code-breaking. Students have the chance to tour the site, learn about the efforts of the Allied code-breakers, including Alan Turing and the Enigma machine, and try their own hands at code-breaking and cryptography.

This year, for the first time, year 10 students have the chance to experience University-level mathematics at Sussex University. The renowned University have offered our year 10s a lecture and workshop, a tour of their beautiful campus, and a visit to the student accommodation. This is an amazing opportunity for our students to begin to consider their options after GCSE and A levels, and can imagine themselves at University.

Year 7 ended the week by travelling to Herstmonceux observatory, where they viewed the world famous astronomical telescope. They also took part in mathematical team building games, testing their engineering skills by building bridges and towers as a group, and learnt about the history of the observatory, which dates back to the 17th century.

A school spokesperson said: “As well as students getting out and about to see maths at work in the world around us, they also experienced some different activities in school. We had HSBC and Natwest banks visiting to talk to students about managing their finances, budgeting and savings. In these talks, students got the chance to learn about the relevance of their work on percentages and profit and put their mental arithmetic skills to great use.

“Some of the other fun opportunities for students in school include a quiz on their general knowledge of Maths, where students compete against each other to win points for their houses, chances to practice their geometry skills making origami creations and rangoli patterns, learning about the mathematical science behind networks, and put their probability skills to the test in a series of fun challenges.

“There is always a great buzz in the school around Maths Week, as the students see how wide-reaching the impact of maths is, as well as how much fun can be had with the subject.”