Hundreds of students take part in state maths competition

HUNDREDS of students across the Northern Rivers have tested their numeracy and problem-solving skills in the state-wide Newcastle Permanent Primary Schools Mathematics Competition.

The competition is one of Australia’s largest and longest-running primary school mathematics contests, with Northern Rivers students among its top performers in recent years.

Local winners have included Richmond Christian College student Ollie Strahan at Ballina, and Sebastian Boudry from Sathya Sai Primary School, Murwillumbah.

Newcastle Permanent spokesperson Paul Juergens said the number of registrations and participating schools are the highest he has seen.

“We’ve seen a surge in registrations this year and I think that really points to the importance of developing numeracy and problem-solving skills, which is something that the competition emphasises,” he said.

“Maths plays an important role in everyday life, from time management to cooking. These skills are pivotal for kids to have, and this competition offers an exciting and challenging way to showcase those abilities,” Mr Juergens said.

“The Newcastle Permanent Primary Mathematics Competition has become a long-standing tradition for many schools and families across the Northern Rivers, and we look forward to seeing the impact that this initiative continues to have on our communities for years to come.”

The competition structure involves 35 challenging questions and 45 minutes on the clock.

The questions include practical math skills and problems that are inspired by real-life scenarios, and in keeping with tradition, the competition remains consistent in its rules – no calculators and no rulers.

This year’s competition was led by Dr. Peter Howley, a national and international leader and award winning academic, educator and practitioner in Statistics, Systems thinking, Process improvement, and integrated STEM.

“With students establishing career interests in their primary school years, the importance of positive engagement with mathematics cannot be overstated,” Dr Howley said.

“The competition plays a valuable role in expanding students’ experiences and learning, as it uniquely supports and complements traditional educational activities and is all about offering kids the opportunity to give maths a go in potentially new contexts, no matter the outcome.”