GCSE Maths in Action

On Thursday 15 November 2018 pupils from the Fourth Year visited the Emmanuel Centre in London and enjoyed an inspiring, interactive day about how maths can be used outside the classroom. We heard many insightful talks from different prominent mathematicians working in universities, industries and the media.

The first speaker was Cerys Bradley whose presentation featured online privacy. She showed us how her knowledge of maths and statistics can be used to investigate cybercrime and the dark web. Next, we listened to Roma Agrawal, a structural engineer who uses maths to ensure the buildings we use every day for work or school don’t collapse. We were also offered the privilege of speaking to her after her talk to learn more about her job. The penultimate speaker was Stephen Connor from the University of York. He used probability to show us how many shuffles it takes to randomise a set of cards. Finally, Hugh Martin from Cambridge University showed us the maths and physics used for Guy Martin’s wall of death, spinning tops, boomerangs and other spinning things.

We also had a practical session where we uncovered the solutions to challenging problems from famous mathematicians. This session was presented by Alex Bellos, who writes the Monday maths puzzle for the Guardian.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed our maths-packed day in a London. It was certainly an interesting, intellectual experience we will not forget. Thank you very much to the Caterham School maths department for giving us the opportunity to learn more about how we will use the GCSE course we are taking over the next 18 months.

By Sophie, Fourth Year