Maths Inspiration Day in Sixth Form
Gina Murphy
/ Categories: News
Wednesday, 25 November 2020
Our Sixth Form students recently took part in a Maths Inspiration Day.
Maths Inspiration is a national programme of interactive maths lecture shows for teenagers. We gave our Sixth Formers a chance to experience the UK's most inspiring maths speakers presenting mathematics, live in the context of exciting, real-world applications.
As part of the event, we had the chance to hear from a range of different speakers who had used maths along their career paths.
We played some statistical games with the hosts, during which we were given the opportunity to analyse different strategies using a range of mathematical methods and involving computer programming to find solutions more quickly.
David Stevens, the CEO of Admiral Car Insurance made a guest appearance and talked to our students about the range of mathematical factors taken into consideration when deciding insurance quotes, as well as taking questions and answers from the live audience.
In another application of mathematics, we looked at mathematical modelling behind the testing system for Covid-19. Brought to us by a resident of Manchester Royal Infirmary, they showed us how maths had sped up the process to ensure test results were given reliably and quickly. We also looked at examples of data and had to give our hypothesis about whether a test would be regarded as positive or negative.
All in all, as well as being an enjoyable afternoon, the speakers were well received by our students and, as the day came to a close, you could hear conversations from the students about how their eyes had been opened to the exciting career choices mathematics had to offer.
Students Quotes:
"It is interesting to see Maths applied to so many real-life situations." Adeola Adeniji
"It showed how maths was used in everyday life." Faseeha Nadeem
"The section on positive and negative Covid tests was really interesting and showed how maths was used to show these results. I also enjoyed the speech from the CEO of Admiral Car Insurance; I found it really interesting how many factors they had to consider when deciding insurance policies." Luqman Ali
"The business side of maths was really interesting it inspired me to pursue a career in maths and continue my maths journey." Livingston Pathmanathan