Pupils from Fair Isle Primary School in Kirkcaldy
Primary school pupils from throughout Fife brushed up on their maths skills during Maths Week Scotland thanks to some fun events organised by Fife College.
The 170 visited Fife College’s Rosyth Campus to take on a series of maths challenges which also gave them a taste of what going to college would be like.
The events were part of the innovative First Chances project which aims to support Primary 7 pupils through their high school journey and into higher education.
The Maths team at the College devised and hosted the series of Maths and Numeracy Challenges to help change negative perceptions by showing that maths can be fun, engaging and interesting!
The pupils particularly enjoyed the problem solving and puzzles and thought it was great to see how maths could be used in real life situations, rather than just doing sums in the school classroom.
Fair Isle Primary School in Kirkcaldy was one of the many local schools who attended. One of their P7 pupils said: “It was a real fun way to learn – much better than normal school work as it challenges your brain.”
The First Chances project is a partnership between the College, Fife Council, The Robertson Trust and the University of St Andrews. It is designed to encourage the pupils to develop their skills, motivation and self-esteem in order to achieve their full potential as they progress through their education.
The timing of the two events was specifically chosen to tie in with Maths Week Scotland – which is designed to highlight the importance and benefits of maths in life and work – showing just how much fun and enjoyable maths can be.
Stewart McDonald, Curriculum Manager for Mathematics at Fife College said: “The children thoroughly enjoyed the problem solving aspect of the challenges, and it was really great to see how well the children worked together in their teams to complete the various tasks. Rather than just doing ‘sums’ the children could see the real life application of maths and problem solving in the challenges.
“The Maths team at Fife College would like everyone to be able to experience the benefits, joy and beauty of maths in exciting and positive new ways.
“Fife College is a fantastic place to study Maths, and we consistently deliver great results for our Maths courses, for example our pass rate for National 5 Maths this year was 8% above the national average.”
