Search for the nation’s best young maths minds returns! Explore Learning Mathematicians’ Awards open for entries
(25th September 2019) Do you know your Pi from your percentage? Your acute angles from your algebra? Your median from your multiples? If you love maths and are positive you’re up for a challenge, then it won’t be obtuse for you to have a go at entering this year’s Explore Learning Mathematicians’ Awards!
Returning for its tenth year in 2019, the Explore Learning Mathematicians’ Awards is set to be the biggest competition yet – with primary and secondary schools invited to enter a team of enthusiastic maths fans, ready to battle it out to be crowned the best young mathematicians in the country by none other than University Challenge legend, teacher and maths genius, Bobby Seagull! Prizes up for grabs include the latest in mathematical engineering and robotics fun from Meccano, HEXBUG, Spin Master and ThinkFun!
Free to enter, the teams will take part in two rounds, tackling a never-before-seen mathematical problem in an effort to make it to the Grand Final at the prestigious Natural History Museum on Wednesday 5th February 2020.
Created and led by tuition provider, Explore Learning, in partnership with the NRICH project at The University of Cambridge, there are two elements to the competition – one aimed at Primary School children for those in years five and six, and a Secondary School competition targeted at pupils in years seven and eight.
Charlotte Gater, Head of Curriculum at Explore Learning says: “Maths is everywhere; you can find it in a musical masterpiece, in a work of art and all across the natural world. Our competition celebrates the magic that maths can bring – and the enjoyment that children can get out of it when they try their hardest! This is an awesome opportunity for pupils to show off their mathematical prowess, to build on their teamwork and problem-solving skills and for schools to celebrate their talented young students. We’re thrilled to have Bobby Seagull onboard as our inspirational ambassador and to be hosting the final at the Natural History Museum which we know will add an extra level of excitement to children as they descend on the capital in the hope of being crowned this year’s winners!”
The first stage is called The Warm Up where a team from Explore Learning will visit schools to run a fun problem-solving workshop that the whole class can enjoy. This is a fantastic opportunity for teachers to see their class in action and select their school’s team for the next stage. Register for the Warm Up by 11th October to be involved in the competition via https://www.explorelearning.co.uk/schools-and-community/mathematiciansawards/.
The real nitty-gritty begins with The Team Challenge held across 15th and 16th January 2020. The team selected from schools’ warm ups will be invited into their local Explore Learning centre to compete against other young maths minds with a never-before seen problem created especially for the day by the NRICH project at the University of Cambridge.
The top scoring five primary schools and the top five secondary school teams who have competed in The Team Challenge will descend on the prestigious Natural History Museum in London to take part in The Grand Final on Wednesday 5th February!
Bobby Seagull, maths teacher, author of The Life Changing Magic of Numbers and co-presenter of the BBC2 series, The Genius Guide says: “I’m so excited to be an ambassador for the Explore Learning Mathematicians’ Awards. The competition inspires children to see the fun that maths can bring – pushing them out of their comfort zone and encouraging them to work together as a brilliant team to be the best they can be. I have always loved maths because once you’ve gained confidence in the basics of numeracy, you then have licence to become truly creative!”
This year, the prizes are better than ever with every child in the two winning teams being awarded with:
– A copy of the game Rush Hour from ThinkFun, worth £17.99 each
– A Meccano Motorized Mover Inventor Set Worth £39.99 each
– Boxer the Robot from Spin Master worth £79.99 each
– A VEX Robotics Motorised Robotic Arm by HEXBUG worth £49.99
– Sum Fun, the educational maths game worth £14.99 each
– A signed copy of The Life-Changing Magic of Numbers by Bobby Seagull
And for the children in the eight teams who are runners up:
– A copy of the game Rush Hour from ThinkFun, worth £17.99 each
– A Meccano Quick Build Inventor set (£9.99 each)
– A Novie Robot from Spin Master worth £24.99 each
– A VEX Robotics Robotic Arm by HEXBUG worth £24.99 each
– Sum Fun, the educational maths game work £14.99 each
– A signed copy of The Life-Changing Magic of Numbers by Bobby Seagull
Last year’s primary school winners were a team from St George’s Primary School in Weybridge while the secondary school winning prize went to the Lawrence Sheriff School in Rugby.
Explore Learning is an award-winning English and maths tuition company with 145 centres located all over the country. Over 35,000 children aged four to 14 attend their centres each week and, over the course of the last 18 years, have helped over 250,000 children. Explore Learning’s aim is to help every child reach their full potential and get the best results they can, developing a generation of fearless learners.
NRICH at the University of Cambridge creates unique mathematical tasks that build students’ perseverance, mathematical reasoning and ability to apply knowledge creatively in an unfamiliar context. Their ‘low threshold, high ceiling’ resources are designed to be accessible to all learners, encouraging exploration and discussion.
To help schools prepare, Explore Learning and NRICH have put together a number of teacher resources, downloadable from the NRICH website – https://nrich.maths.org/11587
For more information about Explore Learning and how it supports parents please visit www.explorelearning.co.uk or call 01483 447410.
