It all adds up at Edge Hill

PUPILS from Parkside Community College in Cambridge discovered the winning formula in a national mathematics competition held at Edge Hill University.

The five-strong team of year nine pupils, made up of David Mestel, Gunnar Lindahl, Rebecca Crib, Ruby Turok-Squire and Anna Haley (pictured) took the first prize in the eighth annual Edge Hill Mathematics Challenge, out of a large field of 234 teams.

Entrants to the competition came from as far afield as Belfast, Tyne and Wear and Portsmouth, with 27 teams of finalists invited to visit the University to present their solutions to a complicated trigonometry problem.

After sweeping aside the other finalists, thanks to an excellent 15-minute presentation entitled Devine Proportions, Parkside picked up the Pythagoras prize of a graphic calculator for each team member as well as a further 15 calculators for their class.

Edge Hill?s head of mathematics Steve Feller said: "The standard of entries was very high which made judging extremely difficult ? full credit to Parkside for their efforts. This is the first time that the school has entered the competition and it's very rare to see a first time entrant win. The competition is a really good way to engage young people in mathematical studies and I?m really pleased to see a national presence in terms of entries."

Pupils from Amery Hill School in Alton, Hampshire took second place in the competition, with third place secured by Tudor Grange School in Solihull.