Tom Rainbow, AC for North Somerset, Devon (East) and Somerset
The AMSP student enrichment team have developed a series of new sessions for the shifting Level 3 mathematical landscape. Increasing numbers of schools and colleges are offering (or thinking of offering) Core Maths to their sixth form students, and therefore our student enrichment has been augmented with a number of new sessions that aim to give students a flavour of how maths can be used in work (and life in general) beyond the classroom.
As well as offering students career advice and outlining how all of the options for studying maths beyond GCSE (A level Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Core Maths and A level Statistics) have ‘real-life’ applications, the sessions that have been designed cover a wide range of contexts including an exploration of how numbers are used when reporting the news (“Fake News”), whether playing sport professionally is really as lucrative as it is made out to be (“Overpaid?”), and an investigation of risk through game playing and a simulation of working life (“Making a living”).
This November we have trialled these sessions and more at a number of schools and colleges throughout the country, including two in Somerset. We would like to thank the staff and Year 10 students at West Somerset College in Minehead and King Alfred School in Highbridge for agreeing to be guinea pigs for these trails. Sessions seemed to be well received and we were given very warm welcomes from students and teachers alike. If any schools or colleges in the region would like to make use of these new enrichment sessions, you can explore our new events listing, or get in touch with your local AMSP Area Coordinator.