GCSE Maths in Action

On Wednesday 16^th of March, a group of year 10 mathematicians travelled up to Westminster for an exciting and inspirational Maths in Action Conference at Emmanuel Centre in London where they explored maths beyond GCSE. The students heard from great speakers including;

James Grime, Mathematician and Communicator:

Secrets of a Digital - See how messages and photos are transmitted on the internet, and the secret messages that tell a film studio if you are sharing movies illegally. Discover the way messages are transmitted without mistakes, even from space!

Amy Elias, Software Developer:

Engineering the Future - Will machines ever be cleverer than us? How does a machine learn the difference between a dog and a bagel? Explain the basics of machine learning and how it can solve some real world problems.

Emily Grossman, Broadcaster:

Lies, Damned Lies, and Newspapers - Can we believe everything we read in the papers? Take a light-hearted look at some issues, illustrated with examples from her own experience as a TV science broadcaster.

EXAMINATION SESSION: Nicole Cozens – useful exams tips were given.

Sophie Maclean, Mathematician and Communicator:

Colouring in for Mathematicians - Colouring can be great fun, but did you know that it can also lead to some very interesting Maths? Discover the rules governing how we can colour things, and to see how colouring can help us solve some interesting mathematical conundra.

Tom Crawford, University of Oxford:

Maths v Sport - How do you take the perfect penalty kick? What is the fastest time a human will ever run a marathon? And where is the best place on Earth to attempt a world record? Maths has all of the answers and how to use mathematical skills to improve performance at sports.

Students all had an amazing day listening to all speakers. Copthall students as always, were a credit to our school asking thoughtful questions and volunteering to be on stage and took part in interactive activities. They also had an added bonus of catching some of London’s best sights: The Big Ben, Westminster Abbey and Department of Education.

Some messages from our students….

“Overall a wonderful experience, learnt a lot and took away useful insights that will help me to plan my life after GCSES. I loved how interactive it was, went in thinking it would just be people lecturing us but was pleasantly surprised.” Jada-Halle Grant

“It was an eye-opening experience that really covered how wide maths can be and how interesting it can get. I preferred the exam question support speech as it helped me understand more about exam techniques. However, I found the first session more engaging through the activities and fun facts we learnt.” - Fadak Sulaiman

“Overall, it was a very unique experience where I got a deep insight into maths and its different uses in our life. It was interesting to learn more about maths after GCSE which is something I am now more keen to look into.” Alisha Jamil