Numbers game

The annual GDST Junior Maths Conference was a great success with hundreds of pupils taking part

The GDST’s annual junior maths conference is a keenly anticipated event and Covid 19 wasn’t going to get in the way. The event moved online, enabling it to be opened up to all Year 6s across the GDST family resulting in nearly 500 students taking part in 140 teams. The task? A series of challenges on the theme of ‘Pattern’. Pupils were given a number of activities designed to explore fractal patterns via tasks on ‘Sierpinski’s triangles’, both in number exercises and practical challenges – such as modelling and building the biggest set of balloon triangles possible. Schools then shared their work via an online platform – flipgrid – where girls could view and review each other’s work.

The challenges involved building the biggest set of balloon triangles possible

Teachers sought to inspire the girls by recording their own ‘maths stories’ and invited the girls to do the same, reflect on their own mathematical journeys and upload them to flipgrid. Finally, there was an online live zoom maths quiz across all the schools.

Rebecca Brown, the Trust Consultant Teacher for Maths at the GDST, said: “It was fabulous to see the mathematical excitement, enrichment and challenge that the activities provided. The current Covid climate didn’t restrict the fun and mathematical learning for the pupils, showing just how our girls can learn without limits.”