Two Teesside school pupils are to test their mathematical mettle on a national level, in the bonus round of a maths challenge, after their high scores placed them in the top two per cent of the competition.
The pupils, Will Birks and Lexie Edge from Year 6 at Red House School in Norton, Stockton on Tees, were among thousands of children that took part in the first round of the national Primary Maths Challenge.
A total of 68,000 children from 1,700 primary schools in the UK competed in the challenge. Red House School, an independent school for children aged 3-16, hosted a maths activity day where 10 local primary schools took part in a series of fun maths tasks before completing the Primary Maths Challenge. As the highest scoring participants, Will and Lexie will compete in next month’s, national bonus round.
As part of the competition, the pupils had to solve 25 diverse problems in 45 minutes, designed to develop reasoning skills, encourage enthusiasm and boost confidence in maths. Out of the 69 local children that took part from 10 regional schools, 36 achieved bronze certificates, 20 silver and 13 were awarded gold, including Lexie and Will. As they received an impressive score of 20 or more, Will and Lexie will also compete for bronze, silver and gold medals in the challenge’s national bonus round, which is due to take place on February 7th.
Headmaster and maths specialist, Ken James, who presented the children’s certificates, said: “This is the second year we’ve invited local schools to join us for a maths activity day and we’re delighted to be able to strengthen our partnerships. Building on the success of last year, we were delighted with the response from local schools.
“We saw lots of enthusiastic mathematicians come together for a day full of exciting activities. The challenge gave the children the opportunity to put their knowledge into practice and I’m pleased that two of our own pupils will take part in the next stage of the competition. This is a terrific achievement and we’re very proud of them.”
For more information about Red House School, which hosts regular inter-school events in topics as wide ranging as science, maths, English and sports, contact Sarah Tomlinson, Head of Marketing, on 01642 553370.
The school is also available on Twitter: @RedHouseSchool, Facebook: @redhouseschooluk and Instagram: @redhouseschool, or visit www.redhouseschool.co.uk.
To find out more about the Primary Maths Challenge, please visit http://www.primarymathschallenge.org.uk/.