Counting the Opportunities
Tamesin Quinn
/ Categories: News
Maths and Science Day at Manchester University
On Friday 29th April, a group of Year 10 students visited Manchester University for a Highly Able Maths and Science day.
The day was designed to give our students an insight into how maths can be used in different and surprising areas from magic to biology.
In order to give them an alternative outlook on maths, students learnt magic tricks and the maths behind them. They discovered that maths had helped in improving the system for locating landmines - they are now found 5 times quicker. Scientists also talked about how they use maths to calculate whether placentas are healthy or not as well as looking at how fish communicate!
Student Alethea Biesty said:
“This day was really eye-opening; we learnt how maths can be applied in the real world. It’s not just about numbers, there are many things you can do with maths.”
The day was also an opportunity for students to learn about Maths and other related courses on offer at Manchester University.
There were many other activities throughout the day including high level maths problems, asking students to use their best problem-solving skills. There was an activity involving particle physics which asked students to look at matter and anti-matter using KNEX, recording, interpreting and analysing data.
Fellow student Alex Clarke said:
“The visit helped us understand that people who want to do maths in the future don’t just end up as maths teachers or accountants, there are lots of opportunities.”
Mr Jackson, Maths Teacher, said:
“The day was a great opportunity to spark the interest of our students to see how much further maths and science can take them.”
Well done to Alethea Biesty, Connie Boardman, Charlotte Rushworth, Caitlin Thompson, Amy Hutchinson, Elizabeth Fayoyin, Alex Clarke, Malek Abusaid, Lewis Dowling, James Landregan, Jardelle Moran-Bakes, Ashgan Mayoub and Ben Robinson.