Maths magic for pupils and parents

On Wednesday, 11 January, we were delighted to welcome Zoe Griffiths to The King’s School for a celebration of maths with some of our Junior and Senior School pupils.

In the afternoon, Removes pupils came together with children from J3 and J4 to enjoy a lecture entitled Hidden Maths of Technology. 

Zoe introduced pupils to the mathematics behind modern technology and the importance of learning maths for a career in technology. From rescuing lost words in text messages to taking selfies, pupils discovered that maths is always there making things work.

During the lecture, students were explained the construction and importance of 13-digit bar codes and how the final number is calculated, as well as the use of binary numbers and sequences using ‘2 to the power N’. 

In the evening, we welcomed more than 150 Junior School pupils and parents, as well as a number of staff, for the Shapes and Smoke Rings lecture, which introduced the audience to topology. 

Topology is an extension of geometry that focuses on properties of shapes that stay the same when they are stretched and deformed.

Featuring exciting demonstrations with real smoke rings, the lecture created fantastic discussion and mathematical engagement between parents and children as they tried to solve the shape puzzles posed by Zoe.  

David O’Neil, lead Maths teacher at King’s Juniors said: “We are always looking for exciting ways to take maths out of the classroom and show that it is relevant to everyone. 

“Zoe’s lectures were inspiring and lots of fun for the pupils, and we were delighted that so many parents at the evening lecture were enjoying engaging with maths together with their children.

“Thank you to Zoe and the team at Think Maths for opening our eyes to a new way of looking at mathematics.”

Zoe Griffiths is an expert in maths communication, regularly giving talks and lectures in the UK and overseas. She has also talked about maths on BBC Radio 4 and even performs mathematical comedy sets for adults. Zoe visited The King’s School with the organisation Think Maths.