UKMT Maths Challenge Returns
Over recent years Rydal Penrhos has achieved the difficult feat of improving a standard of academic excellence.
Following several successive years of positive Value Added scores at GCSE and A-Level, during which time the school returned its best-ever set of A-Level exam results, Rydal Penrhos has demonstrated the capacity to improve the academic outcomes of pupils across all levels of ability; the hallmark of a consistently high-performing educational setup.
While this success is predicated on having an outstanding teaching staff delivering the curriculum in the form of inspirational and informative lessons, we believe that the academic flourishing of our pupils can also be traced to what goes on outside of lesson time.
Routine extracurricular and sporting pursuits play a clear role in helping children and young people live balanced, happy school lives, in turn boosting academic outcomes. However, one-off events can also have a similarly powerful effect.
That might mean a school trip illuminating a subject in a way that a textbook never could, or, as our Senior pupils recently found out, it could mean a test that forces pupils to apply their classroom learning in new and unexpected ways.
This week, pupils up to Year 11 took part in the UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge, a 60-minute, multiple-choice test of mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency.
Rydal Penrhos has a stellar track record in UKMT competitions, which are open to entrants from across the world. The school has seen many outstanding individual and team performances over the years; 2022's Intermediate Challenge saw 22 pupils achieve either a Bronze, Silver or Gold award.
While the sight of the participants deep in thought during this year's challenge might recall the appearance of an end-of-year exam, the event provided a prime opportunity for the mathematically-minded to further their interest in the subject and see it through a different lens.
Faced with unfamiliar, thought-provoking questions, as well as the incentive of securing ‘Best in Year’ and ‘Best in School’ certificates, pupils had the chance to approach a core timetable subject from a novel, intriguing and fun perspective.
For many, an opportunity like that could mark the beginning of a path that leads to a particular A-Level, university degree, or even career.
Thankfully, these opportunities are available aplenty across the academic year, and across all different types of subjects. While the Intermediate Maths Challenge is done for another year, soon enough there will be a STEM Olympics, past pupil talk or literary competition to capture the imagination of pupils and spark their academic interest.
