Brilliant Park Royal Pupils Win King’s Maths Challenge
It all added up for Parkroyal Community School’s brains, as they won the King’s ‘Primary Schools Mathematics Challenge’.
The brilliant young brains won the tough three-hour challenge thanks to teamwork and, as the impressive Gabriella Ninka admitted, “being allowed to chat to each other.” Gabriella, who wants to be a scientist, said: “Usually we work quietly, but today we were encouraged to talk to each other and work as a team.”
There was no complaint organiser Andrew Hillman, Assistant Head of Maths at The King’s School, who said: “That’s exactly the sort of skill we want to encourage: collaborative, conscientious, creative team-working with purpose and point.”
The Parkroyal pupils were among 13 teams of four super bright young minds from 12 different primary schools from across the Macclesfield area.
Selected by their schools for their numerical and analytical skills, the pupils took on a series of taxing questions including many that seemed far from child’s play: ‘Dolly’s age is the reverse number of her aunt Ada’s age and is six elevenths of the difference: What are their ages?”
Each of the Parkroyal team said they loved maths and it was their favourite subject. Hard-working Lily Robinshaw, who wants to be a zookeeper, said: “I like how you can have different ways to get to the same answer.”
Young philosopher Oliver Cope, who wants to be an explorer, added: “Maths helps you measure anything and everything: how heavy something is or how long something is and means we can analyse everything around us.”
While the skilful Caitlin Wood summed up the mood: “It’s always such fun. It’s like a complex puzzle you can play with until you get the right answer.”
Parkroyal Teaching Assistant Carolyn Tuson, who accompanied the team, said: “I am so proud of their enthusiasm and team-working. How they employed different strategies to arrive at the right answer and how they collaborated intelligently as a team. The whole school is going to be very proud of them too.”
Andrew Hillman added: “It has been a very special and exciting day for the Maths Department – working with such sharp and receptive young minds is always an absolute delight.” In second place were Marlborough Primary School and in third place were Alderley Edge Community Primary School. The other teams competing were King’s Juniors, Hollinhey, Lower Peover, Ash Grove, Bollinbrook, Marton, Bollngton St. John’s and Rainow Community Primary schools.
Still struggling? The answer is 27 and 72.
