Mathematics
Events
Photo Assignment
Mr Jonathan Nicholl has recently been taking photos of the girls in maths lessons.
Click on a photo to view an enlargement in a new window.
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Code-Breakers Win GCHQ Prize (£1,000)
An OHS team finished second in Southampton University's National Cipher Challenge
The competition lasted four months and the girls had to decipher sixteen coded messages. The final message used a variant of the Enigma cipher, famous for its role in World War II. It was a monster to crack, requiring several hundred hours work and the help of a computer.
The girls will go to Bletchley Park, home of wartime cryptanalysis, to receive their prize.
The author of the competition has already commented, 'With a team that talented, the future of British Mathematics seems assured.'
This is the second time that the team has won a prize in the competition. Last year they were joint winners of the IBM prize for the best computer programme.
The code-breakers are Naomi Miller, Chloë Brown, Natasha Morrison, Abi Schultz, Laura Bowlby, and Karina Morrison.
Personnel
We are a department of eight: five women and three men, all talented mathematicians.
Facilities and Resources
The department is based in a suite of four rooms, all equipped with overhead data projectors.
Curriculum
We follow the National Curriculum. Girls take GCSE in Year 11 and AS and A levels in Years 12 and 13. Maths and Further Maths are popular subjects at A level and several girls have recently gone on to study maths at leading universities.
Extra-Curricular Activities and Achievements
There are lots of extras too! Maths Club flourishes with activities from games and model-making to extra help with homework. Girls recently competed in a national cipher competition, finishing sixth overall. Everyone enters the three National Maths Challenges. Many girls win gold certificates and some go on to win medals in the National Maths Olympiads.
Puzzle of the Month
Each month there are four puzzles in different categories
- Shapes: Puzzles about polyominoes, triangles, squares, etc, etc.
- Numbers: Puzzles about numbers – factors, primes, square numbers, etc
- Algebra: Puzzles which can be solved using 'x's and 'y's
- Miscellaneous: Puzzles which don't fall into any of the above categories.
Anybody can enter for any puzzle
To enter, place your solution in the box. All correct solutions will receive a Gold Slip. In addition, each month a prize (edible!) will be awarded to the solution in each category with the best explanation (if there are several equally good solutions, the winner will be drawn out of a hat).
Current Puzzle of the Month: December 2007
The deadline for the December puzzles is Friday 11th January.
Past Puzzles:
| Month | Solutions | |
| October 2007 November 2007 |
Shapes Numbers Algebra |
For Puzzle of the Month going back to September 2004 click here.