Val Pritchard, AC for Hertfordshire
Around 100 students from Hertfordshire, Essex and Bedfordshire came together for an exciting Year 10 enrichment day in Hertfordshire. The following schools were represented: Icknield, Queen’s, St Albans Girls, St Mark’s, St Michael’s, Stanborough and Watford Girls.
There was a theme of hexagons for individual and team competitions.
Presentations included an introduction to finding the volume of a pyramid with a regular hexagon of side b for its base and slanted edges of length s:
This was used in the practical team competition, which saw six teams get within 10% of the optimal answer for constructing a hexagonal pyramid net. Every school had two or more students who were members of winning teams. The day finished with the ever popular “Creation of Number?” talk, given by Ben Sparks of the University of Bath. Ben also led a thoroughly engaging workshop on Magical Maths.
Some excellent feedback from the day:
- “The event gave a more in-depth insight into maths outside the classroom”
- “We developed team work with unfamiliar people”
- “We used lots of different skills to make our pyramid”
- “Ben Sparks’ end lecture blew my mind”
- “Magical Maths showed a different fun side of Maths”
There is likely to be a repeat of the event in July for schools who are interested, so watch out for more information at a later date.
There are other enrichment opportunities around the region including Maths Feasts, enrichment visits and enrichment days. Contact your Area Coordinator to find out more.