What a tremendous afternoon for 9 of our More Able and Talented (MAT) maths students. 9 students from year 7 attended the annual local Maths Challenge event hosted by Blundell’s School. The best mathematicians from Blundell’s School, Cullompton Community College and Uffculme battled it out over 3 very different rounds for the chance to walk away victorious.
A warm up task preceded lunch in the refectory where our students calmly eyed up the competition before a rigorous individual task under strict exam conditions. Onwards to the team rounds. Split into teams of three students had 30 minutes to answer 10 very challenging questions. Team work and frantic scribbling were essential in this round as the scenarios were complex and took time to complete.
Teams had a breather on the walk to the sports hall where music pumped out of speakers and teams combined cardiovascular endurance with their maths ability. Teams were given a question, worked it out, ran to the judges who marked it either correct or incorrect. Got it right? Grab another question and run back to your team. Wrong answer? Oh no!…….sprint back to have one more go. How many can each team complete before the time is up? The atmosphere was tense, the brain activity buzzing, jackets were abandoned, pencil nibs shattered and the sweat was pouring. Just who will win this adrenaline powered round?
Whilst the scores were totted up students and staff were treated to two very informative and professional presentations by Blundell’s School 6th form students.
And finally the results were in. How will we fare against these other brilliant mathematicians? First up the individual award and we come away with a third prize. Well done Oliver H what a brilliant result and after a hand shake from the Head Mr Wielenga we awaited the team results.
Would it be another third place? No…….this went to one of the Uffculme teams
Could it possibly be a second? No….another Uffculme team.
To rapturous applause Tiverton High School’s team consisting of Eva, Oliver and Kingsley were announced as the winners. What a day and what an achievement. Presented with a trophy that we will display proudly for the next 12 months and some rather lovely goodie bags we went home victorious and proud of the achievements of each other and the competitors from other schools.
Well done to: Eve A, Oliver A, Kingsley B, Eddie G, Bethany M, Erin R, Dylan H, Lily H and Wanda P.