Maths Challenge
Ready Set Maths
One pair were given only the across clues, and one pair were given only the down clues and were not allowed to communicate with each other. The difficulty here came from the across pair needing some of the down clues to answer their questions and vice versa, creating both excitement and frustration in equal measure. The lack of communication became more interesting as the pairs were able to sacrifice answers in order to gain some of their much needed numbers - of course the other pairing were not able to give the go ahead for this so the teams had to use strategy to weigh up the time limit vs marks gained from sacrificing answers. The teams worked right up to the wire with just 1 point separating first and second place. A much needed lunch break ensued with a bit of a kick around on the field before coming back for the final round - the mathematical relay. At this point it was still possible for every team to win so enthusiasm was high. The pairs were split up across the room and had to answer a question correctly before they could collect the next question and pass it on to their teammates. This alternated back and forth with lots of encouragement from pairs who were waiting their turn for a question. Close to the end of the time limit we heard an almighty crash! Luckily it was a student who had knocked over a chair whilst racing to get their next question, and not the student themselves falling over in all the excitement! With final results in, it was a win for the Queen ’ s team consisting of Máté, Leyton, Ben and Sam, with a team from Hugh Sexey in a very close second. All the teams did exceptionally well with difficult questions, and showed an amazing resilience in stretching their knowledge as far as they possibly could. Well done to everyone who took part, and we look forward to making this an annual event!
Runner up team and winning team
Queen ’ s Teams
In lieu of the UKMT team challenge which is unfortunately not yet up and running again, Queen ’ s hosted our first Team Maths Challenge for teams of four students in Year 8. The two Queen ’ s teams consisting of Maryam, Lily, Jacob and Tristan, and Máté, Leyton, Ben and Sam went up against teams from Bishop Fox ’ s, Hugh Sexey and Hazlegrove in a series of challenges across the day. We were kindly helped out by our Year 12 Further Mathematicians Olivia, Tadhg, Sevin, Jan, Jeffrey and Chadz who were an excellent support for us throughout the day. The first challenge allowed the teams to work as a group to answer a series of 10 challenging questions in 45 minutes. The all or nothing nature of the marking meant that the teams had to be certain of their answers, particularly when they are not your standard style Maths questions but require much more out of the box thinking. The teammates all worked well together, producing some excellent scores after the first round. The second round saw the team split into pairs to complete a crossword style number puzzle.
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