School pupils from across Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire will put their code-cracking skills to the test this weekend at the final of TechFest’s Maths Masterclass series.
More than 40 pupils will attend the ‘TechFest’s Crack the Code’ event this Saturday (March 11) at Robert Gordon University, where the students will also be presented with their certificates for taking part.
TechFest will host the last event in the series, which is supported by The Royal Institution and sponsored by Chevron North Sea Limited.
This newly launched event will see pupils work their way through a series of ‘puzzle rooms’ which each contain a different mathematical problem to be solved in a race against time.
Each of the puzzles will demand teamwork and lateral thinking as well as challenging the students to consider how maths is applied in a range of industries, including the oil and gas and financial sectors.
The event is suitable for people of all ages and the student’s families are also invited to attend and take part.
The Maths Masterclasses 2016/2017 series has run since November and provided an exciting opportunity for youngsters to experience some different mathematics topics and hear from professionals who are passionate about maths.
Laura Easton, Chevron Upstream Europe’s stakeholder engagement and social investment advisor, said: “A company like Chevron needs thousands of talented professionals to produce energy around the world every day. Tomorrow’s Chevron employees are today’s school children and through programmes like TechFest’s Maths Masterclasses, we hope to promote STEM activities to young people, support their experience-based learning and inspire them to pursue STEM-based careers.”
Pupils from 17 local schools have taken part in the presentations and practical workshops, ranging from ‘Anyone for tennis (and maths)?’ to ‘Graphical Explorers’.
Molly Imrie, TechFest STEM education manager, said: “This year’s series of Maths Masterclasses has provided young people with a great opportunity to see how maths can be applied in different industries and everyday scenarios.
“We’d like to thank The Royal Institution and Chevron for their continued support and of course to all the schools and pupils who have taken part in the programme.”
The schools taking part in the Maths Masterclasses 2016/2017 are Alford Academy, Cults Academy, Mintlaw Academy, Peterhead Academy, Buckie High School, The Gordon Schools, Westhill Academy, Oldmachar Academy, Bridge of Don Academy, Robert Gordon’s College, Northfield Academy, Bucksburn Academy, Aberdeen Grammar School, Ellon Academy, Turriff Academy, Banchory Academy and Aboyne Academy.
Each year, TechFest runs the highly popular TechFest Science Festival which attracts tens of thousands of children and adults to a series of STEM-based events in and around Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, as well as a year-round programme of educational events for schools and young people.
For more information, please visit www.techfestsetpoint.org.uk