On Thursday 28th March Mr Carter took four Year 8 and 9 pupils to Nicholas Hammond Academy in Swaffham to take part in the UKMT Team Maths Challenge. The pupils involved were Hayden and Barney in Year 9 and Rhys and Joshua in Year 8. Out of the 15 schools that took part they came in a commendable 5th place (up one place on last year)!
There were four different activities they had to complete over the course of the day. The first activity was the group round where they needed to work together to solve various maths problems.
The second activity was the cross number where the pupils were split into two pairs with one pair only receiving the clues for the down answers and the other pair receiving just the clues to the across answers. Their aim was to complete the cross number without communicating with the other pair even though a number of the clues needed solutions that only the other pair could work out. Hayden said “I enjoyed answering a variety of questions, and my favourite part was the cross number where we had to work in pairs to find the answers.”
The third activity was the shuttle round where they were again working in pairs. The first pair had to solve a mathematical problem and then give their answer to the other pair as they needed that number to complete their question. This was repeated until four questions were answered.
The final activity was the relay where the pairs were separated to different areas of the room and one pair had to solve a question and get it marked before they were given the next question which they had to take to the other pair to complete. Barney said “I enjoyed solving all the different problems as they were very interesting. The atmosphere was very competitive which made it all very fun.”
The pupils were amazing all day and a real credit to the school. They demonstrated excellent teamwork and problem solving skills throughout the day!
