Enterprising Maths

The School was buzzing with mathematical activity on Friday, October 4th when we once again hosted the Scottish Independent Schools’ heat of the annual Scottish Enterprising Mathematics competition.

Pupils from the Highlands to the Borders went head to head to win a place as one of the four qualifiers for the National Final.

Round 1 challenged our mathematicians to work together as a group to solve 15 mind-bending problems in just under an hour. All the teams worked extremely hard and thoroughly enjoyed tackling the problems. S4 pupil Sam said: “It was a really great competition, it was good to meet other students who also really enjoy the subject and to try some challenging problems.”

Round 2 comprised 7 different activities from building foam cubes to solving Ken-Ken puzzles. A favourite amongst the teachers was watching all the pupils tackle problems from the 1985 ‘O’ Grade Arithmetic examination! Our young people loved the challenge and scored very highly.

The competition rounded off with a final relay round of 35 quick-fire questions, tackled by each team in alternating pairs. The first two rounds had resulted in a close run in the leader board and so every question answered was key to success.

There was a tense atmosphere in the hall as the final scores were collated and Miss Ramsay, Head of Mathematics, prepared to present certificates to the winners. The final placings were:

1st place Loretto School

2nd place Albyn School

3rd place George Heriot’s

4th place Stewart’s Melville

Hutchesons’ came in at 13th out of the 24 teams. S4 pupil Jim said: “I greatly enjoyed the Enterprising Maths competition. While we could have placed better, I had fun answering the problems, and talked to some new people.”

S3 pupil Delphie said: “The Enterprising maths challenge was a very enjoyable experience and I am definitely glad I took part. The different stages were all difficult in their own way but I really liked getting to work together with my team to solve the various problems. I would definitely do it again because it was such a great opportunity to learn.”

We wish the four qualifying schools every success in the National Final on November 5th.