Pencils and brains were sharpened on Saturday as the Wellington School Maths Challenge once again attracted huge numbers of children. Over 250 students from 63 primary schools took part in the Challenge and enjoyed the competitive spirit. The winner in this hotly contested competition was Tatworth Primary School, whose team of 4 beat off all other contenders for the
prize.
Now in its twenty-ninth year, this annual event is aimed at children aged 10 or 11 from schools across Devon and Somerset. Schools are invited to enter a team of four pupils who work together to solve 25 questions in one hour. Their problem solving skills are put to the test with a range of tasks which are based on principles from across mathematics.
“We were delighted to see so many enthusiastic and talented mathematicians working together and pitting their wits against each other. This event has grown over the 29 years we have been running it and it is always good to see new schools joining in”, commented Maths teacher Peter Buckingham, who has run this challenge for almost 2 decades! “These young mathematicians have impressed us all with their enthusiasm. They have successfully solved problems by working together and sharing their methods.”
The winners took home books, puzzles and the satisfaction of having risen to the challenge.
- First place was Tatworth Primary School.
- Second place was jointly won by Combe St Nicholas Primary School and Brent Knoll
Primary School. - In third place was St Andrew’s Church School
- St James Church School, Blackbrook School and Hugh Sexey Middle School made the
closest estimates of the number of sweets in the jar.
This year, the challenge was written by Lydia who attended the event as a student over fifteen
years ago. After leaving Wellington School, Lydia gained a first class honours degree in
Mathematics from Merton College, Oxford and gained her PhD at the University of Bath.
