Maths Week England was set up in 2019 with the goal of ensuring that no children miss out on the opportunities that being a confident competent mathematician can give them. There are people who will openly admit that they aren’t good at Maths, or even don’t like the subject. Maths Week is an opportunity for everyone to show that Maths is more than what is learnt in the classroom and that it is a way to show how your brain solves problems and how others can understand your thoughts.

This year, we have three different challenges for the students to engage with: 5 puzzles to discuss, posted around the school, 3 puzzles of the week to solve for a prize and for those who are more curious, there is an investigation task that is different for each year group.

UIII can investigate the power of 2: how many times can you fold a piece of paper and what is the world record?

LIV can find out about Möbius strips and Klein bottles. What does music sound like when played on a Möbius strip?

UIV have been invited to discover knot theory. This is an area of Mathematics that has a important link to Biology. The students will hopefully find out what that link is and why it is significant.

LV have a Christmas themed investigation. What is the minimum length of tinsel required to fully decorate a Christmas tree?

Each answer can be submitted on a page of A4, with a prize in each year group for the best summary of their findings.

Two of the puzzles of the week are shown below: