Competition plus prizes equals fun for budding school mathematicians
Schools from across Hampshire are crunching numbers and talking equations as they prepare to take part in a regional maths competition organised by University of Southampton and sponsored by Deloitte.
Over 200 competitors from 18 schools across Hampshire will be battling to win the Year 10 Inter-Schools Maths Competition which takes place on Tuesday 18 March at the University's Highfield campus.
Cash prizes and a collection of top maths books will be awarded to the first five teams in the challenge, with the winning school taking home £100, plus £25 for each team member. Professor Alistair Fitt, the Head of the University's School of Mathematics will be on hand to present the prizes along with medals for the teams finishing in the top three.
Professor Fitt explained: "Maths can be used in unusual and surprising ways in everyday life - from playing computer games to competing successfully in business.
"Through this competition for schools, we are working to raise the profile of maths as a rewarding and exciting subject to study at university and highlight how it is applied in real-life situations. We hope also to inspire a new generation of professional mathematicians who will contribute to innovation across many fields, including science, engineering, technology, finance, economics and medicine."
Toby Wright, Audit Partner for Deloitte in Southampton, is looking forward to the event and said: "It should be an enjoyable day for all the students, and Deloitte is really pleased to be involved. It's important to show school students that what they learn now in their maths classes can be very valuable when they reach employment. The competition should be exciting and there are some great prizes on offer."
The annual competition has proved so popular that there is now a waiting list of schools wishing to get involved. This is the first time Deloitte has sponsored the event and representatives from different departments at their Southampton office will be on hand to speak to the participants and their teachers about how they use Maths in their working lives.
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Schools taking part in the competition include: Bay House School (Gosport); Wyvern Technology College (Eastleigh); Mountbatten School (Romsey); King Edward VI School (Southampton); Applemore College (New Forest); The Romsey School; Regents Park Community College (Southampton); Wildern School (Hedge End); St George Catholic School (Southampton); Ringwood School; The Gregg School (Southampton); Ashdown Technology College (Poole); St. Anne's Catholic School (Southampton); The Clere School (Newbury); South Wiltshire Grammar School (Salisbury); Brookfield School (Sarisbury Green); Salesian College (Farnborough), and last year's winners from Cams Hill School (Fareham).
The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship. It is one of the UK's top 10 research universities, offering first-rate opportunities and facilities for study and research across a wide range of subjects in humanities, health, science and engineering. The University has around 20,000 students and over 5000 staff. Its annual turnover is in the region of £325 million.