Maths in the News

On Tuesday 17th September, College VI Year 12 and 13 Maths and Further Maths A-Level students watched a talk by Zoe Griffiths (Think Maths), titled ‘Maths in the News.’ It was a fascinating event all about the wider applications of Mathematics, and provided much insight into how companies often use maths to influence people’s understanding of information presented to them. It included some interactive elements, where students got to learn a simple formula that can help rule out lying in surveys by taking part in a survey themselves.

The experience was highly valued by students in both years, as it introduced to them how the news tries to deceive its readers, and how, through basic maths, they can spot inconsistencies and see the statistics for how they really are. Zoe was a fantastic speaker, and the Collegiate is very thankful for the opportunity to hear from her.

– Ava & Jemima – Year 12

Year 7 Talk – Topology and Smoke Rings

On Tuesday we had a guest speaker deliver a maths talk to us. It was about her top three favourite shapes. They were a sphere, a mobius strip and a torus. She shows us some tricks about the shapes and created some torus smoke rings that flew across the hall. I liked the hand trick of being able to turn your hand without actually twisting your arm. I really enjoyed the experience.

– Jessica – Year 7