Midlands school students head to Oxford to inspire female maths learners
Five young people from a Birmingham school visited the University of Oxford last week to help encourage a love of maths among female learners.
The Year 9 learners from Ninestiles, an Academy, attended the “It All Adds Up” maths event at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, as part of an inspiring trip aimed at building confidence and encouraging a deeper interest in mathematics.
The school, which is part of the Summit Learning Trust, is encouraging all its young people to progress with their learning around mathematics, but especially girls, who historically have taken less maths courses in higher education.
Throughout the day, learners took part in a range of enriching activities, including three engaging lectures.
These included Untangling Maths, Looking Down on the Earth with Maths, and From Ancient Greeks to Hypercubes: A Journey into Higher Dimensions, which introduced them to new and exciting areas of mathematics.
Learners also participated in a hands-on maths workshop, where they worked closely with two Oxford maths ambassadors to explore problems collaboratively, apply logical reasoning, and develop their problem-solving skills in an interactive and supportive environment.
Alex Hughes, Principal at Ninestiles, commented: “It’s great to see our young people learning and pursuing their passions at the same time. We want to be clear that maths at any level is an option for every single one of our learners, and trips like this to Oxford help our learners understand this.”
Amelia, a learner at Ninestiles commented: “The Oxford trip was really fun and exciting, because we had the opportunity to listen to amazing university lectures, and complete a range of activities. Overall, I enjoyed it very much and it was a great trip!"
Inayah, a fellow learner, said: "I really enjoyed the Oxford trip; it was a great opportunity to learn about the different ways maths can be used in the real world.
“We also used maths to calculate climate change in the UK, which was interesting as it relates to us. We also learned about many new, interesting and fun topics so it was a good experience overall!"
