Mathematics Enrichment Programme Events
All dates for the events for 2025 - 26 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
Livestreaming of the recording of the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
Mathematical Sciences was once again invited by the Royal Institution of Great Britain to be a host venue for the livestreaming of the recording of the world famous Christmas Lectures. Dr Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock took us on an epic voyage through time and space.
Watch this space for details of the Livestreaming of the 2026 Royal Institution Christmas Lectures
Year 9 Royal Institution Mathematics Masterclasses, Spring 2025
2026 saw the 28th 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.
When the dates for the 2027 series are set, information will be sent to schools but 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 10 Residential Masterclass
The year 10 residential courses at Easter 2026 are 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, North Devon, Exeter or Truro the previous year.
41 students attended the two courses, which consisted of 6 sessions covering a wide variety of topics exploring various areas of mathematics
Fair Games and Fractals This session started by exploring the number of paths that a marble takes through a triangular array - a Galton Board. This leads very nicely onto Pascal's Triangle and we discovered some of its many interesting features. We finished by colouring in Pascals triangle, what happens if you colour in all the odd numbers? A fractal - the Sierpinski Triangle, emerges and this set the scene for the rest of the week - we created a 3 dimensional fractal - a Menger's Sponge, from 2400 train tickets!
3 dimensional origami Modular origami is a technique that can be used to build some pretty interesting and impressive models of mathematical objects. In modular origami, you combine multiple units folded from single pieces of paper into more complicated forms. The Sonobe unit is a simple example unit from modular origami that is both easy to fold and we were able to create cubes, octahedrons and iscosohedrons.
Graphs, Maps and the Four Colour Theorem This session took us away from the very hands on to the abstract as we learnt a bit of University level mathematics!
The Maths Trail This session allowed the students to get out of the classroom and find 24 questions that were placed around the site. Working in groups to find and answer as many as they could lead to some bartering between groups!
2 dimensional origami Back to the hands on with this session as we explored the 2 dimensional shapes that can be created by folding a square of paper
Shorelines, snowflakes and Sierpinski Triangles This session explored the Coast Line Paradox - the coastline has infinite length, which fed nicely into the Koch Snowflake, a shape with an infinite perimeter but a finite area. We finished by creating yet another fractal - a Kirigami which brings us back to Sierpinski's Triangle.
The details about the 2027 year 10 course will be sent directly to all of the parents of the students who attended the year 9 classes at Plymouth, North Devon, Exeter and Truro in the spring of 2026. If you have not received the information by November 2026 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?"
Nearly 650 students and 60 mathematics teachers from 30schools across Devon, Cornwall and Somerset attended over 4 taster days run in December 2025 and April 2026. Each student took part in 3 workshops which were designed to show them mathematics beyond what is studied in schools. The aim of the day was to encourage the students to consider Mathematics as an A level choice.
As soon as the dates for the Year 10 Taster Days for the 2026-27 academic year have been set, information will be available here and sent to schools but 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?", Wednesday 1st July and Tuesday 7th July 2026.
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 Wednesday 30th June and Tuesday 8th July 2026.
The day will consist of a number of hands-on interactive workshops from the School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics. The students will take part in a mathematics workshop, an engineering workshop and a computing workshop. The aim of the day is to provide your Year 12 students with a taste of three of the many courses that are on offer at University to those with an A level in mathematics. In addition, there will be a Course Fair during the lunch time to allow the students to get information on some of the other courses on offer at Plymouth.
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.
If you would like to bring a group of students to this event please complete the online application form
Year 12 taster day application form: Year 12 taster day application form for schools 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.
I know that releasing teachers to attend these days comes at a cost to the school. Therefore this day is also open to individual students, the application form needs to be completed by a parent/carer and communication about the day will be sent to both the student and to the parent/carer.
Year 12 taster day application form for individual: Year 12 taster day application form for individuals 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 12 taster day please contact Jenny Sharp on jsharp@plymouth.ac.uk