St Margaret's Preparatory School pupils excel in national mathematics contest

Everything has added up well for a team from St Margaret’s Preparatory School that has finished runners-up in a national contest for young mathematicians.

Pupils from the school, in Calne, competed against other primary schools in the Final of the competition held at the University of Cambridge. The team of Year 6 children had won two earlier rounds to reach the final stage of the National Young Mathematicians’ Awards.

Teams worked on a three-stage challenge and were judged not only on the final answer, but on their workings, presentation and teamwork. St Margaret’s were recognised for their strong teamwork and were also praised for listening to and acting upon feedback from the semi-finals.

A spokesman for the contest said: "St Margaret’s Preparatory School showed fantastic teamwork, systematic working and most importantly their mathematical thinking."

St Margaret’s Headmistress Mrs Karen Cordon was delighted with result and said: "St Margaret’s has been specifically targeting all aspects of the children’s mathematical skills, focusing particularly on mental arithmetic, as well as their capacity for problem solving and investigative work.  

"For the first time we decided to enter a team of Year 6 children into the National Young Mathematicians’ Awards – the only team maths competition for primary aged children in the UK. 700 schools took part and I am so proud that our intrepid team of Hannah, Charlotte, Alistair and Alfie were one of five schools to go through to the National Finals at the University of Cambridge and finished as runners-up.

"They clearly demonstrated outstanding problem solving skills, excellent teamwork and a high level of mathematical competence. Whilst they were at the University of Cambridge, they had a tour of the maths facilities and saw problem solving taking place at the highest level."