Mathematical Sciences Outreach with the University of Plymouth
Dr Jenny Sharp coordinates the Mathematical Sciences Outreach
The current Outreach Programme for Mathematical Sciences grew out of the Mathematical Enrichment Programme which started at the University of Plymouth in 1996. We started with our first Royal Institution Mathematics Masterclasses for year 9 students and since then it has grown into a programme for students in Years 9 to 12.
2024-55 was a busy year for Mathematical Sciences Outreach with nine events which brought 1312 students and 247 adults onto campus. Additionally, events run off-campus engaged with a total of 477 students and 26 teachers bring the grand total to over 2000!
All schools within traveling distance are invited to attend the events, if your school does not receive information about the events and would like to be added to the mailing list please contact Jenny Sharp
Secondary Masterclass Programme
The Year 9 Masterclasses are part of a nationwide programme in association with the Royal Institution of Great Britain and they run on Saturday mornings in the Spring Term. There is a follow up Year 9 day in June - the South West Masterclass Event for those students who attended the Plymouth, Exeter, North Devon and Truro series.
The final event in the Secondary Masterclass programme is a three day residential course for the Year 10 students who attended the Plymouth, Truro, North Devon and Exeter Masterclass series the previous year.
For details of planned events for this academic year for Years 9 and 10 please see the Events Page.
Taster Days
We run 'taster days' for year 10 and year 12. The aim of a taster day is to encourage students to think about the next step in their mathematics career.
The aim of the Year 10 taster days is to encourage the students to consider mathematics as a choice for A level. These days are usually held either at the end of the Autumn term or the end of the Spring term (or both if the school term dates and the University term dates allow!)
The aim of the Year 12 taster day is to allow students who are currently studying mathematics at A level an insight to the degrees that require an A level in Mathematics. These days are usually run in the first two weeks of July.
For details of planned taster days for year 10 and year 12 please see the Events Page.
Year 10 and Year 12 Work Experience
We run a Year 10 Work experience week at the end of June and a Year 12 work experience week at the beginning of July every year. As it is quite difficult for us to get Year 10 and Year 12 students involved in the mathematics that the lecturers are doing – you will need a PhD for that, the weeks are run for students who are interested in maths, and it gives them a flavour of working at a University. One of the things about working in a University environment is being able to manage your time and decide what to do when. The students are provided students with a number of things to do during the week, you decide how and when to do them – managing your time effectively is a good employability skill. There are usually a number of students from different schools, so they learn how to work together. Among the tasks that they do includes creating resources for the outreach workshops helping with preparations for the Year 12 Taster Days that are running at the same time, acting as guinea pigs for ideas we have for new outreach workshops, and analysing feedback from the Year 9 South West Day.
Students who would like to be considered for a work experience place should send an email (from their school email address) to Dr Jenny Sharp with some information about themselves and why they would like to gain experience working with us.
Livestreaming of the recording of the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
For the past two years, we have been invited by the Royal Institution of Great Britan to be a host venue for the livestreaming of the recording of the world famous Christmas Lectures. In 2024 the audience was entertained and educated by Chris van Tulleken as we delved deep inside our bodies to explore how the food that we eat has a fundamental impact on our own health and that of our planet. The University of Plymouth was one of ten universities and museums across the UK to be livestream hosts, and only one of the two who ran the event on all three evenings. Plans for the 2025 Christmas Lectures are underway, Dr Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock will take us on an epic voyage through time and space. The filming is over three evenings in December, once all details have been finalised, an application form will be availible on the events page. For further details please contact Jenny Sharp
Bespoke activities for schools
In addition to planned events it is possible to run sessions for individual schools and other masterclass programmes. These range from an hours after school club activity to a 2 hour masterclass activity to a whole day workshop. They can be held at the University (room availability permitting) or on your school. For further details please contact Jenny Sharp