On Thursday 12th January, 12 of our Year 10 and Year 11 students visited the Mathematical Institute at Oxford University, a day designed to inspire young women to pursue Mathematics beyond GCSE. The day started with a presentation from Professor Julia Gog, who was one of the Mathematicians supporting the government through the COVID pandemic. She explained about how they used mathematics to make sense of the strategies available during the pandemic, and why strategies may have differed for different populations. We then broke off into small classrooms, where we were able to try lots of different mathematical challenges. We loved that the café at the Mathematical Institute was called ‘Café Pi’ but were disappointed that they hadn’t taken the opportunity to price their sandwiches at £3.14! In the afternoon, we tried our hand at origami, learning about how the Ancient Greeks had also considered the same problems, before considering the more modern applications. To finish, we heard from Rachel Beddoes, who showed us all the incredible careers that involved Maths. We became forensic Scientists, using equations to calculate a time of death for a murder, and then video game designers, looking into all of the graphical equations that make up the shapes required to build a video game. Hearing from students that are currently taking Mathematics at Oxford University was also really interesting. They didn’t shy away from how challenging the course was, but also spoke highly of the support and experiences they had been given. An amazing and inspirational day!
Mrs H Kettle, Head of Mathematics
