Mathematics
 |
Events
In the Christmas holiday, 11 Y9 girls spent a morning at the University Museum in Oxford.
In the Christmas holiday, 11 Y9 girls spent a morning at the University Museum. The day began with a lecture by eminent mathematician and Professor for the Public Understanding of Science, Marcus du Sautoy. Marcus shared his enthusiasm for prime numbers with a lively audience. Our girls took an especially active role in the lecture, even acting out the life cycle of the cicada, in order to show the importance of prime numbers. After the lecture, and a delicious snack, the girls went on a tour of the museum with an exciting mathematical quiz.
Photo Assignment
Mr Jonathan Nicholl has recently been taking photos of the girls in maths lessons.
Click on a photo to view an enlargement in a new window.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Code-Breakers Win GCHQ Prize (?1,000)
An OHS team finished second in Southampton University's National Cipher Challenge
The competition lasted four months and the girls had to decipher sixteen coded messages. The final message used a variant of the Enigma cipher, famous for its role in World War II. It was a monster to crack, requiring several hundred hours work and the help of a computer.
The girls will go to Bletchley Park, home of wartime cryptanalysis, to receive their prize.
The author of the competition has already commented, 'With a team that talented, the future of British Mathematics seems assured.'
This is the second time that the team has won a prize in the competition. Last year they were joint winners of the IBM prize for the best computer programme.
The code-breakers are Naomi Miller, Chloë Brown, Natasha Morrison, Abi Schultz, Laura Bowlby, and Karina Morrison.
Personnel
We are a department of eight: five women and three men, all talented mathematicians.
Facilities and Resources
The department is based in a suite of four rooms, all equipped with overhead data projectors.
Curriculum
We follow the National Curriculum. Girls take GCSE in Year 11 and AS and A levels in Years 12 and 13. Maths and Further Maths are popular subjects at A level and several girls have recently gone on to study maths at leading universities.
Extra-Curricular Activities and Achievements
There are lots of extras too! Maths Club flourishes with activities from games and model-making to extra help with homework. Girls recently competed in a national cipher competition, finishing sixth overall. Everyone enters the three National Maths Challenges. Many girls win gold certificates and some go on to win medals in the National Maths Olympiads.
Puzzle of the Month
Each month there are puzzles in four different categories:
- Junior: Aimed at years 7-8. These puzzles will help you get ready for the Junior Maths Challenge and Olympiad.
- Intermediate: Aimed at years 9-11. These puzzles will help you get ready for the Intermediate Maths Challenge and Olympiad.
- Senior: Aimed at years 12-13. These puzzles will help you get ready for the Senior Maths Challenge and British Mathematics Olympiad.
- Open: These puzzles are just for fun! Anybody can enter.
All correctly explained solutions to Junior, Intermediate or Senior puzzles from students in the relevant years will be awarded a Gold Slip and a chocolate bar.
Correctly explained entries for a puzzle not designed for your year will still be awarded a gold slip – but no chocolate!
All correct entries for Open puzzles will be awarded a Gold Slip. One entry for each puzzle will be awarded a bar of chocolate.
Current Puzzle of the Month: January 2010
The deadline for the November puzzles is Wenesday 3rd February.
Past Puzzles:
| January 2010: | Puzzles |
| December 2009: | Puzzles |
| November 2009: | Puzzles |
| October 2009: | Puzzles |
| September 2009: | Puzzles |
| June 2009: | Puzzles |
| May 2009: | Puzzles |
| March 2009: | Puzzles |
| February 2009: | Puzzles |
| January 2009: | Puzzles |
| December 2008: | Puzzles |
| November 2008: | Puzzles |
| October 2008: | Puzzles |
For Puzzle of the Month going back to September 2004 click here.