Mathematics Enrichment Programme Events

The dates for some of the events for 2023 - 24 have been set and you can find the details and application forms are below.

Dates for other events will be published as soon as they are set and information sent out to schools.

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

Schools can book for any event once the dates have been finalised, all bookings are done online and the links to each application form can be found below.

If you need any further details about any event please contact Jenny Sharp on jsharp@plymouth.ac.uk

Year 9 Royal Institution Masterclasses, Spring 2024

The application for schools to nominate students onto the masterclasses is now open.

This will be the 26th series of Year 9 Masterclasses at Plymouth which are part of a nationwide programme in association with the Royal Institution, more details can be find here. It is a series of 6 Saturday mornings, each exploring a topic which is not covered in the school’s curriculum and are designed to stretch the students’ ability. The dates for the 2024 series are Saturday 13th January, Saturday 20th January, Saturday 10th February, Saturday 17th February, Saturday 9th March and Saturday 16th March. Each session will start at 10:00 and finish at 12:30 and will be held on the main campus of Plymouth University (PL4 8AA).

Students need to be nominated by their school in order to attend these masterclasses.

Please click the link below to find a letter that you might find useful to send home with any potential student which will give the parents the details of the year 9 masterclasses as they are on Saturdays and the parents will need to make arrangements to get them to the University.

Initial Information letter for parents click here

The University of Plymouth is able to cover the cost of these masterclasses for all students who wish to attend. The condition is that the students are committed and make every attempt to attend the majority of the 6 sessions. Numbers are initially limited to 6 students per school to allow as many schools to participate as possible.

Applications should be made from schools using the link below. If you have any problems with the application form, please contact Jenny Sharp on jsharp@plymouth.ac.uk

Online application form: Year 9 online application This link will open in a new tab and takes you to an external site run by Microsoft Forms.

If you need any further details about the year 9 masterclasses please contact Jenny Sharp on jsharp@plymouth.ac.uk

The Masterclass series at Plymouth University covers the Plymouth, SE Cornwall, West Devon, South Hams and Torbay region. There are similar Masterclass groups in Truro, Exeter and North Devon which cover the rest of Devon and Cornwall. You should receive information from your local group. If you are not sure which Masterclass group you are covered by please get in touch with Jenny Sharp jsharp@plymouth.ac.uk and I will point you in the right direction.

Year 9 South West Masterclass Follow up Day, June 2024

This whole day event is primarily for all the students who attended the Royal Institution Mathematics Masterclasses with the Plymouth, North Devon, Exeter and Truro groups in the spring term but is open to other masterclass groups in the wider South West and also to students who did well on the UKMT Maths Challenge.

You will have the opportunity to work on a number of activities throughout the day.  As this day is a school day then you should first ask permission from school for the day off. There is no charge for this day but you will need to bring a packed lunch and drink.  The day will start at 10:00am and finish at 3.00pm and you will need to make your own way to the University in Plymouth.

Details will be sent directly to the students who attended the year 9 series in the spring term with information also being sent to their school.

If you need any further details about this day please contact Jenny Sharp on jsharp@plymouth.ac.uk

Year 10 Residential Masterclass

The year 10 residential courses at Easter 2024 is one of the highlights of the year even though they are the most stressful – being responsible for 15 years olds for three days and two nights! These courses are a follow-up course for students who attended the Saturday Year 9 classes at Plymouth, Bideford or Truro the previous year.

The details about the year 10 course will be sent directly to all of the parents of the students who attended the year 9 classes at Plymouth, Bideford or Truro in the spring of 2022. If you have not received the information by November 2023 or need any further details about this course please contact Jenny Sharp on jsharp@plymouth.ac.uk

Year 10 Mathematics Taster Day - "What study A level Mathematics?"

Both of these days are now full. If you would like to be added to the reserve list, please complete the form and let me know at question 9, the latest date that you will need confirmation from me in order to attend.

As part of our outreach and enrichment activities we are running two Year 10 Mathematics Taster Days on Tuesday 26th March and Wednesday 27th March 2024.

The day, which is being run in conjunction with the Advanced Maths Support Programme, will consist of a number of hands-on interactive workshops on a variety of mathematical topics. There are a number of workshops covering all aspects of mathematics including applications to engineering, statistics as well as topics such as cryptography and geometry. .

The aim of the day is to provide your Year 10 students with a taste of mathematics at University with the hope that it will encourage them to consider mathematics post 16 or hopefully post 18. The workshops are designed to be accessible to your top sets and will be challenging as well as enjoyable!

The day will start at 09:30 and finish at 15:00.

The event will be held on the main campus of Plymouth University (PL4 8AA).

There is no cost for the day.

You are invited to bring a group of year 10 students to this event, the group will need to be accompanied by an adult/adults from school who will be responsible for them during the day.

We are initially limiting numbers to 30 per school which will enable you to bring a whole class. However, it is anticipated that this day will be oversubscribed,so we will ask that, should you have to decrease the number you initially applied for, you give as much notice as possible so we can offer the places to other schools.

The students will be allocated to the different workshops, we aim to have workshop sizes between 20 and 25 to enable a hands on interactive experience. Therefore if you bring a group which is larger than 20 we will need to split your students into two or three groups so that they attend different workshops. If there are 2 or more accompanying adults then that will make sorting the students into different groups easier. If only one member of staff is accompanying the group and the group size is greater than 20, I will contact you to discuss how to split the group and allocating an undergraduate student ambassador to the group.

If you would like to bring a group of students to this event please complete the online application form as soon as possible.

Year 10 taster day online application form: Year 10 taster day application form This link will open in a new tab and takes you to an external site run by Microsoft Forms.

I will confirm your application and nearer the time I will send you full details, also asking you to confirm the final numbers and the names of the students and adults so that they can be given badges and details of which workshops they have been allocated to.

If you need any further details about the year 10 taster day please contact Jenny Sharp on jsharp@plymouth.ac.uk

Year 12 Taster Day - "What can I do with my A Level Mathematics?" 2nd and 10th July 2024

The application for schools to book onto this event is now open.

This is an annual event and will be held at the beginning of July each year. Information will be sent out to schools and colleges as early as possible in the academic year. Please contact me if you would like to be added to the mailing list for Year 12 events.

As part of our outreach and enrichment activities in the Mathematics Department at Plymouth University, we are running two Year 12 University Taster Days on Tuesday 2nd July and Wednesday 10th July

The day will consist of a number of hands-on interactive workshops on a variety of topics. There are a number of workshops covering all aspects of mathematics including pure mathematics, statistics, physics and applications of mathematics to the different areas of engineering and computing. The aim of the day is to provide your Year 12 students with a taste of what is on offer at University to those with an A level in mathematics. 

There is no cost for the day.

You are invited to bring a group (any size) of year 12 students to this event. Ideally the group will need to be accompanied by at least one adult from school who will be responsible for them during the day. However, we know that releasing teachers to attend these days comes at a cost to the school. In certain circumstances, we are able to accept a group from a school without an accompanying teacher. Please contact me to discuss this possibility.

If you would like to bring a group of students to this event please complete the online application form

Year 12 taster day online application form: Year 12 taster day application form This link will open in a new tab and takes you to an external site run by Microsoft Forms.

I will confirm your application and give your some more details. Nearer the time I will send you full details, also asking you to confirm the final numbers and the names of the students and adults so that they can be given badges and details of which workshops they have been allocated to.

If you need any further details about the year 12 taster day please contact Jenny Sharp on jsharp@plymouth.ac.uk

Year 6 Masterclasses, June 2024

The Year 6 mathematics masterclass days at Plymouth University are a carousel of three activities designed for pupils who are able and interested in mathematics.

Schools can send up to 6 pupils to one of the days. The group of children would need to be accompanied by a teacher or a TA,it is a good source of CPD, you know what they have been doing and are then able to follow it up back in school.

The day will start at 10:00 and finish at 3:00 and will be held on the main campus of Plymouth University (PL4 8AA).

Full details and an online application form will be made available as soon as dates are set.