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Spring 2015 Newsletter
The Way Forward
We were pleased to welcome more than fifty colleagues to our official launch event held at the beautiful Royal Station Hotel,
Newcastle, during March. The event included a review of our year one activities and a look forward to exciting opportunities
and developments for year two.
The launch, attended by schools from Northumberland,
County Durham, Tyne and Wear areas, was held on 9th March
at the Royal Station Hotel in Newcastle. We were extremely
pleased to welcome John Westwell, Director for Strategy for
the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of
Mathematics (NCETM), responsible for the coordination of
the National Maths Hub programme.
In his presentation, Mr Westwell stressed the common
purpose of the Maths Hub programme is to “create
improvement through a school-led system, encouraging
collaboration and teachers working together, to make a
difference to pupils.” The vehicles for working together and
improving education were identified as being National
Collaborative Projects, Development Projects and Local Work
Groups.
National Collaborative Projects are closely coordinated by
NCETM, and are a means of addressing the transformational
agenda, such as mastery and post-16 participation. All maths
hubs are required to work on these projects simultaneously,
with results and feedback coordinated centrally for further
development and consideration. Several Maths Hubs are
collaborating to develop programmes and approaches that
can then be rolled out across the hub network. Local Work
Groups are projects specifically developed to address issues
raised by the schools within a particular Maths Hub region.
As part of the ticketing process for the launch event,
delegates were invited to propose new ideas for future Great
North Maths Hub local work groups they would like to
participate in, and or lead. We were thrilled to receive 30
new project proposals, which are presently being reviewed by
the Leadership Team for potential development and inclusion
in Year Two projects plans.
The launch event continued with presentations by Senior
Maths Hub Lead, David Baldwin, Steve Humble, Newcastle
University, and Amanda Tunmore, Maths Lead for the Great
North Maths Hub.
In his presentation Mr Baldwin focused upon the key
achievements of the Great North Maths Hub during the first
year, including details of local projects such as our hugely
successful Key Stage 2 Development Programme. Mr Humble
presented exciting news about the Numbers Festival which
the Great North Maths Hub are heavily involved in. (Further
details of the events programme can be found herein).
Mrs Tunmore presented details of the second year of the
Maths Hub, including information about exciting new
National Collaborative Projects focusing upon mastery in
secondary education, and details of our new app! The event
closed with a networking opportunity, providing delegates
with the chance to foster new relationships with schools from
other parts of the region.
Audience feedback indicated that prior to the event the
majority of delegates, whilst recognising the ‘Maths Hub’
name, were unfamiliar with our aims or objectives. Following
the event, feedback revealed 100% of respondents are now
fully conversant with the Hub’s aims and purpose following
the presentations. We thank all participants for their support!
Contents
National Projects
3
Welcome ...
England-China Teacher Exchange Program
5
We are pleased to bring you the latest round-up of events, news
and project updates from the Great North Maths Hub. Inside
this edition you will find information about our latest projects
including three new local projects, including your chance to
become involved in our new Special Education Needs Forum
beginning in May. We have also invited Secondary schools in
the region to take part in the next phase of the England-China
Exchange project., turn to page 5 for details on how to apply.
Local Project Updates
7
New Local Projects
9
SEN Forum
10
Professional Development Opportunities
11
Numbers Festival Events Schedule for
Schools
13
Our New App
17
And, for those of you who are not aware, we are holding our
very own Teacher Conference in June, tickets are going fast, turn
to page 13 for more details of the Numbers Festival.
We hope you enjoy this issue, and as ever we would be happy to
hear your feedback!!
Visit our website : www.mathshubs.org.uk/greatnorth
“A quiet math class is suspicious”
Dr Yeap Ban Har, January 2015
National Projects
We were delighted to embark upon the second and third
national Maths Hub projects earlier in the year. The Mastery in
Primary Mathematics theme continued with the launch of the
Singapore Text Book programme, and a research based project
investigating Post 16 participation also began.
The Singapore Textbook project began in January involving Maths Hubs
all over England, and aims to develop and embed a mastery approach to
primary maths teaching. The project involves two lead primary schools
from each Maths Hub region, trialling a set of specially adapted versions
of textbooks presently used in Singapore. The Great North Maths Hub
are pleased to announce Stephenson Memorial and Denbigh Primary
Schools are leading the project in our area.
Year 1 pupils from Denbigh Primary School have
started to use the new style textbooks in their own
lessons
The textbooks used in the project are titled ‘Maths—No Problem’ and
have been adapted in line with the new National Curriculum and will be
used with Year 1 classes only. Prior to introducing the textbooks, each
Year 1 Teacher from each school participated in a 3 day workshop
delivered by Dr Yeap Ban Har, Director of Curriculum and Professional
Development at Pathlight School in Singapore.
Dr Ban Har is also Principal of Marshall Cavendish Institute, a global
teacher professional development organisation, and is heavily involved
in promoting the Singapore Approach to Mathematics Teacher
Education. Delegates attending his ‘Teach, Assess. Differentiate’
training course in January were educated as to how the textbooks could
be used in planning and delivery. The training course provided a
valuable development opportunity as Dr Ban Har also focused upon
formative and summative assessment frameworks for Key Stage 1;
reflected upon teaching theory and core competencies i.e. visualisation,
generalization and number sense. Delegates also focused upon
strategies to support struggling pupils.
A workshop and presentation regarding the textbook
trial will be showcased at our Teacher Conference
in June.
The new textbooks have now been introduced in both schools, and
progress is being monitored. Plans are afoot to record one of the
lessons and present findings at our Teacher Conference in June.
To find out more about the Singapore Approach to Maths, please visit http://www.banhar.blogspot.co.uk
Page 3
Visit our website : www.mathshubs.org.uk/greatnorth
In Year 2 of the Maths Hub, there will be Five
National Projects … will you be involved?
Forthcoming Events
Our third national project is aimed at increasing participation levels of
post-16 students in Level 3 maths courses. The project is a research
based investigation led for the Great North Maths Hub, by Churchill
Community
College.to launch the Great North Maths Hub at
We
were excited
the
Royal
Station
Hotelsuccessful
on 9th March
The
project
will identify
student2015.
engagement strategies and
explore ways to help schools and colleges experiencing lower
participation rates. The lead school, working in collaboration with
partner
schools and with the Further Mathematics Support Programme
Need
to add…..
and the Core Maths Support Programme will seek to formulate
approaches to drive student participation.
The project will also explore ways of increasing the
proportion of girls studying maths at Post-16
Our first meeting held in March involving Walker Technology College,
Studio West, Haydon Bridge and Walbottle Campus, provided an insight
into common issues facing post 16 recruitment. The findings from the
meeting will form the foundation for further action.
Mastery Forum, Birmingham—March 2015
We were pleased to send a delegation of primary school teachers
representing 9 schools from across the North East, to the Teaching
Primary for Mastery Forum in Birmingham.
The forum was organised by NCETM and included presentations by
Schools Minister, Nick Gibb MP. Lead schools from the EnglandChina Teacher Exchange programme offered examples of how
mastery approaches have been implemented and embedded in their
own schools following the first wave of Shanghai teachers, visiting
last year.
If you would like to participate in the Post-16 research
project contact [email protected]
Page 4
For further details please look out for the new ‘Bespoke’ newsletter,
issued by NCETM, which will provide readers with an in-depth round
up of activity within the Maths Hub National Network.
Follow us on Twitter @GNMH_mathshub
Shanghai is the largest city in China, with a
population of 23 million people*
New National Projects
We are very happy to announce the England-China Teacher
Exchange Research programme will be continued this year,
with the focus shifting to Secondary Maths Education. Would
you like to be involved?
In 2014-15 the National Maths Hub Network participated in a very
successful teacher exchange between 48 English Primary schools and
their counterparts in Shanghai. We are pleased to announce this
project is being extended to focus upon secondary maths education.
Beginning in September 2015, we are seeking applications from schools
around the region who are interested in leading this project.
This project is a key activity of the Maths Hub programme attracting a
high level of attention both locally and nationally, from schools and
media alike.
Benton Dene Primary School, North Tyneside, led the
first stage of the England-China Teacher project
The aims of the project for the participating English teachers are that
they:

develop a deep understanding of how maths is taught for
mastery in the equivalent of KS3 classes in Shanghai;

develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to attune and align
with those of their Shanghai counterparts,

implement successfully the Shanghai structural and pedagogical
approaches in some/all Y7 and/or 8 classes in their school.
The project demands a high level of commitment from the lead
Secondary School, not only to undertake research in Shanghai, but to
reciprocate the visit, and to dedicate sufficient time and resources to
planning, teaching, reporting and implementation activities. A briefing
document, providing comprehensive information about the project
commitments, can be obtained by contacting the Great North Maths
Hub.
The project in this region will be funded by the Great North Maths Hub
and the Department for Education.
*information supplied by www.travelchinaguide.com
Page 5
All parties interested in leading this exciting
project, should contact the Great North Maths
Hub by emailing us before Friday 1st May for a
copy of the project briefing and application
details. The successful applicant will be advised
in June.
Follow us on Twitter @GNMH_mathshub
Benton Dene Primary School played host to
Miss Yan and Miss Li in November 2014 as
part of the initial phase of the
research project
Forthcoming Events
Benton Dene Primary School, in North Tyneside, led the initial
phase of this project for the Great North Maths Hub.
We were excited to launch the Great North Maths Hub at
In sharing this experience with a wide network of schools,
the
RoyalLawrence,
Station Deputy
Hotel Head
on 9th
March
Ashleigh
teacher
and2015.
Lindsey Gallagher, Maths
Coordinator, presented their immediate findings following the
research trip to Shanghai in October 2014. An invitation was then
extended
to teachers around the region to observe the lessons
Need
to add…..
delivered in the Shanghai style, by visiting teachers Miss Yan and
Miss Li, during November.
A meeting held in December gave participating schools
the opportunity to reflect upon their findings having
trialed an aspect of Shanghai teaching
As part of the observation sessions, teachers were asked to trial a
chosen element of the mastery approach in their own schools and
report their findings. Subsequently the impact of the initial phase of
the project has been felt across the region with several schools
adjusting their practices as a result of the project.
The team at Benton Dene Primary have also presented their findings at
many events and training seminars across the country, including the
forthcoming Newcastle City Council Primary Maths Conference at
Newcastle Racecourse on Friday 3 July 2015.
NCETM PD Leads
NCETM provides support for those who manage and offer
professional development for mathematics and we are
pleased to be able to facilitate local networks for providers
of mathematics CPD across England.
Over 100 people from schools across the region
observed lessons delivered by Miss Yan and Miss Li
Page 6
NCETM encourage support via online and face to face network
meetings which take place twice yearly. The next meeting with be
held at St James Park on Tuesday 30 June 2015, between 12-4pm. If
you would like to attend the meeting please contact the Great North
Maths Hub via [email protected]
Visit our website : www.mathshubs.org.uk/greatnorth
“A deep understanding of multiplicative
ideas forms a strong foundation for
subsequent learning”
Lobato, Ellis, Charles : 2010
Local Project Updates
Our Key Stage 2 Development Programme provides a
supportive and collaborative atmosphere for primary school
teachers, sharing best practice, techniques, hints and tips.
Wendy Mitcheson, North Tyneside Learning Trust, continued to
lead the programme, supporting nine primary school teachers
from across the region.
Our very popular Key Stage 2 Development programme continued this
term with two sessions, one focusing upon eLearning apps and the
other concentrating upon multiplication and division.
We were extremely pleased to welcome
Laura Dickinson, eLearning Lead Teacher for
North Tyneside Learning Trust, to guide a
one hour twilight session introducing
websites and free applications to provide
enriching and enjoyable activities, and to
improve use of the correct vocabulary.
The ‘Thinking Blocks’ app is free to download and
allows problem modelling with feedback
given immediately
Websites such as mathematicalshed.com
and nrich.maths.org provide invaluable
online resources, applicable for all Key Stage
development. Many of the websites
mentioned during the session, provided links
to other subjects such as literacy, thus
creating a complete learning experience.
Laura Dickinson
eLearning Lead Teacher,
North Tyneside Learning
Trust
There are now an abundance of free maths applications available to
download. One of the benefits of using applications, is the increased
level of pupil engagement, coupled with an immediate feedback
mechanism. Applications such as Thinking Blocks, Math Fun and
Number Pieces are useful for differentiation and progression.
If you would like more guidance about eLearning, please contact Laura
via Twitter @eLearning_Laura.
Page 7
‘PicCollage’ is a free app which can be used to capture
evidence of learning
*Developing Essential Understanding of Ratios, Proportions, and Proportional Reasoning for Teaching Mathematics in
Grades 6-8 , by Joanne Lobato, Amy B. Ellis, Randall I. Charles
Visit our website : www.mathshubs.org.uk/greatnorth
‘Factor spiders’ are a resourceful way to
investigate and explore factor pairs, which
can then lead to the introduction of
Prime Numbers
A morning session, held at the Langdale Centre, North Tyneside, in
February, explored fun, innovative ideas and resources to enable
students mastery of multiplication and division.
There was much emphasis placed upon the need to use real life
problems when introducing concepts, in order to stimulate and engage
interest, as well as facilitate understanding. The importance of
developing and using correct terminology was emphasised. The session
made great use of novel and inexpensive resources such as chocolate
box trays to investigate arrays, and kidney bean counters to test
conclusions.
Resources do
not need to be
expensive, these
chocolate box
trays are a novel
way to approach
arrays
Delegates were reminded of the need for children to be able to
demonstrate their understanding of mathematical concepts, rather
than assumptions being made as to their level of knowledge. The
session made use of several practices which could be easily adopted to
increase motivation and enable understanding.
Beginning the session with an ice-breaker, delegates were faced with a
whiteboard and asked ‘Can you see a number?’, prompting a discussion
regarding how the activity could be used to explore factor pairs. The
discussion was supported by the introduction of useful resources such
as ‘Factor spider’ diagrams to explore factor pairs and kidney beans as
an inexpensive alternative to counters, which can be used to check
divisibility. The spider diagrams can also support further development
activities, such as the introduction of Prime Numbers.
Delegates were also shown a short video by NCETM, titled “The
Commutative Law for Multiplication” containing methods for teaching
arrays to children at Key Stage 2. This and other supportive videos are
available by visiting https://www.ncetm.org.uk/resources.
The second half of the session focused upon division exploring sharing
and grouping. Place counters were used as a concrete representation
of the division algorithm. Cuisenaire rods were also used to find
divisors.
Wendy Mitcheson shares effective practices for use
when teaching division
Page 8
The programme continues throughout the Summer term.
If you would like further information regarding this course, or if you would like to participate in future presentations,
please contact [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter @GNMH_mathshub
Richard Brown will be running a workshop at
our Teacher Conference on 29 June. All
delegates attending the workshop will
receive a free games resource pack.
New Local Projects
Although our first year is nearly at an end, we are pleased to
share with you several new local projects which have been
recently approved by the Department for Education and are
now underway.
Richard Brown is North Tyneside Council’s Primary Maths Advisor and
founder of Freestyle Maths on Facebook. His new project titled “6
Methods to Develop Cardinal and Ordinal Number Sense” broadens
published research investigating the link between simplistic children’s
games with skill development and achievement in Maths.
As part of this innovative project, Richard has designed several games
giving children a strong sense of how numbers work. The games are
presently being trialled within two local schools, and findings will be
collated and analysed as part of the project conclusion.
Richard Brown, pictured with colleague Karen Knox,
representing North Tyneside Council, School
Improvement Team
As with all of our projects our intention is to impact and reach as many
schools within the region as possible, to this end, Richard will present
his project at our Teacher Conference in June. Delegates will be
provided with their own pack of resources to trial them in their own
school environment. Richard will coordinate the findings of these trials
following implementation.
We are extremely pleased to have local educational resource supplier
edTech, working with us on the project. edTech will be attending our
Teacher Conference and have offered delegates the fabulous
opportunity of winning a resource package worth £800 for their school.
To be in with a chance of winning this excellent prize, delegates are
able to buy raffles tickets at the conference, with all donations going to
a local charity.
Freelance Stained Glass Artist, Jane Littlefield, is also working on this
project, designing colourful and appealing glass pebbles. Jane’s work
can be viewed on her website www.janelittlefieldglass.co.uk.
Page 9
These beautiful pebbles have been produced by glass
artist Jane Littlefield as part of the games pack
Follow us on Twitter @GNMH_mathshub
Do you have a Maths related project which
you would like the support with?
Send an outline of your idea to,
[email protected]
SEN Forum
The second of our new local projects focuses upon special
educational needs. A new forum seeks to bring together
special need schools to identify and address issues associated
with Maths education in their field.
Beacon Hill is an Ofsted Outstanding school, we are
extremely proud to be working with Lucy Cameron,
Maths Coordinator
Working with Lucy Cameron, an experienced Special Needs Teacher and
Maths Coordinator at Beacon Hill school in North Tyneside, the Great
North Maths Hub have invited all SEN schools in the region to
participate in a forum on 5 May 2015, 4-6pm at BALTIC Art Gallery. The
purpose of the forum is to encourage collaboration between schools,
identify issues and formulate strategies to tackle common problems.
For further information and to book your place please contact
[email protected].
Success@Arithmetic
The third of our new local projects is focused on improving the
quality of intervention for students with difficulties in
arithmetic proficiency.
Success@Arithmetic is a calculation-based
intervention for learners in upper Key Stage 2 and Key
Stage 3
Page 10
Our newest project involves two schools from the region, and has
funded their training costs on the Success@Arithmetic programme. The
programme, which has been designed in collaboration with Every Child
Counts schools, seeks to improve the quality of intervention for
students at Key Stage 2 or 3, who are experiencing difficulties with
arithmetic proficiency. The aim of the programme is to support
students progress, enabling them to catch up with their peers. The
programme will develop factual and conceptual understanding through
the use of skills, practice games, concrete apparatus and bar models.
The aim of the project is to share the teaching strategies and resources
with other staff in development sessions, and to monitor the impact of
the approach.
Visit our website : www.mathshubs.org.uk/greatnorth
If you would like to advertise any of your
courses in our newsletter, or on our new App,
please contact the Great North Maths Hub
Professional Development
Opportunities
NCETM is running a series of professional development courses for
teachers, tutors and trainers working in all branches of the FE and
training sector to increase the workforce’s capacity and confidence to
teach mathematics courses up to Level 2.
‘Taking GCSE Mathematics Deeper’ aims to develop teachers’
knowledge in preparation for the changes in GCSE teaching and
learning. The one day courses are being offered free of charge to
participants and further details can be found at www.ncetm.org.uk.
The following presentations are now open for booking:Workshop
Date
Location
Algebra and Statistics
6 May
Newcastle City Library
Geometry and Trigonometry
3 July
Newcastle City Library
Further details of NCETM courses can be found on
their website www.ncetm.org.uk
Mathematics Outdoors
Newcastle City Council are delighted to welcome back
Mercia Lee, a former Local Authority Primary Mathematics
Consultant , author and nationally renowned speaker.
The EYFS Mathematics Outdoors course will focus on how to create and
use the outside environment to support children’s mathematical
development’ explore how to plan exciting, engaging activities to help
children consolidate their mathematics understanding and to clarify the
adult’s role in supporting mathematical play. Mercia Lee previously
delivered Newcastle City Council’s first Teaching Assistant Conference in
March., where she was rated ‘outstanding’ by delegates.
The course will run on Friday 8th May at Newcastle City Learning,
Westgate Road, Newcastle. For further information and to apply for
tickets please contact Gail McDonnell, EYFS Consultant via email at
[email protected]
Page 11
Mathematics Outdoors will provide an opportunity
to share and reflect on ideas and practice
with colleagues
Visit our website : www.mathshubs.org.uk/greatnorth
If you would like to stay up to date with the
latest news from NRICH, you can sign up to
their newsletter at http://nrich.maths.org/
public/mailinglist.php
Classroom Conference
Churchill Community College, North Tyneside, are holding the
Great North Classroom Conference on Friday 3rd July 2015
Churchill Community College is an Ofsted rated
‘Outstanding’ school in North Tyneside
With a wide range of workshops on offer, led by outstanding
practitioners and experts in their field, the Great North Classroom
Conference 2015 will provide practical guidance that delegates can
reflect upon and subsequently utilise in the classroom. The
programme of events includes a workshop focused upon ‘Maximising
student performance in GCSE Maths’.
The event will appeal to all colleagues who want to inspire young
people and will provide practical strategies designed for immediate
impact. Tickets are priced at £149 per delegate.
Further information and a booking form can be obtained by visiting
www.churchillcommunitycollege.org
Motivate & Inspire
Durham County Council are pleased to announce a CPD
opportunity will be delivered by NRICH on Friday 3rd July 2015
The ‘Problem Solving Unpacked’ event will appeal to
teachers of mathematics in Key Stages 1-3 and Senior
Leaders
Page 12
The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all
learners. This event will support delegates in providing rich problem
solving opportunities for all their students on a regular basis. During the
day delegates will explore some of the substantial collection of
problems on the NRICH site, and think about how to plan these
activities into effective and engaging lessons. The event will be
delivered at The Workplace, Newton Aycliffe. For further details please
contact Durham Council via email at [email protected].
The cost of attending is £120 (Durham School Partners) and £180 (non
partner schools).
Follow us on Twitter @GNMH_mathshub
What is your favourite number and why?
Visit www.ncl.ac.uk/events/numbers
to let us know
The Numbers Festival
A week long series of inspiring events to celebrate mathematics
across the region. The festival begins on 27th June 2015.
The Numbers Festival is being organised by Newcastle University in
association with the Great North Maths Hub and the Institute of
Mathematics and its Applications.
The festival is the idea of Steve Humble, PGCE Secondary and Primary
Mathematics Lecturer at Newcastle University. The programme of
events taking place across the region includes our Teacher Conference,
workshops, talks, careers fair and even an appearance by Kjartan
Poskitt, author of the Murderous Maths series.
All of the events are free of charge and are open to teachers and pupils
within the Great North Maths Hub region, covering Northumberland,
Tyne, Wear and County Durham areas. The events will take place in
some of Newcastle’s finest landmarks including the Baltic Art Gallery,
St James Park, Hancock Museum and the Tyneside Cinema. A complete
listing of events can be obtained by visiting the University website at
www.ncl.ac.uk/events/numbers.
Steve Humble, Newcastle University, has organized a
series of exciting events designed to
celebrate numbers
Murderous Maths
Kjartan Poskitt, author of the popular Murderous Maths series,
is performing two maths magic shows for primary school
children in the region
On Thursday 2nd July, we are delighted to welcome Kjartan Poskitt to the
Numbers Festival. He will be performing two of his Maths Magic Shows
for 400 primary school children from schools in Newcastle and North
Tyneside. The shows will be performed at Newcastle University and will
feature a variety of tricks from his Murderous Maths books, including
flexagons, magic squares, dragon curves and strange facts.
In addition to our primary school shows, Kjartan will also be performing
at a family event at the Baltic Art Gallery on Saturday 4th July, 2-4pm.
Tickets for the family event can be obtained from Baltic Art Gallery.
Page 13
The Murderous Maths website features novel tricks
and games to inspire interest from young
mathematicians www.murderousmaths.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter @GNMH_mathshub
Please remember to use #numbersfestival or
#celebratingnumbers if you are tweeting
about the events
Art & Maths
The prestigious BALTIC Art Gallery on Gateshead’s Quayside is
playing host to several activities intertwining Maths and Art
The BALTIC Art Gallery is staging a fun and fabulous Maths Art Day for
800 primary school children from schools in Newcastle, North Tyneside,
Sunderland, Durham and Northumberland. This event combines mathsthemed, artist-led workshops, tours and trails with BALTIC artists and
will use the entire space of the gallery.
Pupils will take part in workshops investigating themes of digital
construction, movement and light, all supporting creative mathematical
inquiry. In addition to the workshops, pupils will also explore BALTIC
and its exhibitions through a specially designed self-led maths trail, and
have the opportunity to take part in a Maths Treasure Hunt on the
Newcastle/Gateshead Quayside.
The BALTIC Art Gallery will stage a wonderful Maths
Art Day for 800 primary school children from schools
in the Great North Maths Hub region
A Teacher Workshop is also taking place as part of the festival. This
event is a CPD opportunity and will be led by Steve Humble, Newcastle
University, ably assisted by several of the BALTIC artists. Twenty
teachers from primary schools across the Great North Maths Hub area,
will participate in the workshop that will focus upon strategies to create
positive attitudes in maths in order to improve student performance.
STEM Careers Fair
As part of the Festival Newcastle University will be holding a
STEM oriented careers fair on Thursday 2nd July for Year 10 and
12 students from the region
Hosted by Newcastle University, the Career Fair will provide students
with an opportunity to learn more about potential career prospects in
the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
The event will consist of employer talks and demonstrations that are
designed to emphasize the job opportunities offered in these industries.
The event schedule is still being developed at this time, but interested
parties should contact [email protected] for more details
or to book places.
Page 14
The STEM Careers Fair will provide students with an
exciting insight into possible careers in the field
Visit our website : www.mathshubs.org.uk/greatnorth
The Teacher Conference is being held as part
of the Numbers Festival , visit
www.ncl.ac.uk/events/numbers for further
details on all of the events taking place
Celebrating Numbers
We are extremely excited to announce our very own Teacher
Conference taking place on 29th June 2015, at St James’ Park,
Newcastle upon Tyne.
Mike Ollerton, is our Keynote speaker for the event,
presenting ‘Reasoning and Problem Solving’
The conference is a free event for all school teachers within the Tyne,
Wear, Northumberland and County Durham areas, sponsored by
Newcastle University, IMA and the Great North Maths Hub, as part of
the Numbers Festival. The aim of the event is to provide valuable
learning opportunities designed to enrich teaching practice by
combining inspirational and motivational speakers, with professional
development opportunities and interactive workshops.
The event is open to all primary school teachers, secondary school
maths teachers, subject leads and head teachers. The prestigious
surroundings of St James Park in the centre of Newcastle, will play host
to the event, providing a location which is accessible by public transport,
although there is limited public parking available nearby.
The format of the event consists of a series of motivation speakers,
including Mike Ollerton, a freelance consultant in Mathematics
Education and successful author, followed by interactive workshops in
the afternoon. .
We are pleased to welcome Heel & Toe’s Vicky
Toulmin to the conference, who will introduce
resources and techniques specifically designed for
children requiring additional assistance
Page 15
The workshops will be delivered by Specialist Leaders of Education,
NCETM accredited Professional Development Leads and/or represent
Outstanding schools in the region. Delegates are able to chose to
attend 3 of the 19 workshops available. Subjects addressed by the
workshops include assessing pupil progress, exploring handheld
technologies in Maths and resources for special education needs.
Tickets are now available to book, and can be obtained by visiting :
http://ntlearningtrust.org.uk/events/great-north-maths-hub-teachersconference/
Visit our website : www.mathshubs.org.uk/greatnorth
This series of lectures has been arranged
specifically to cater for students in
Years 10-12
Maths Lecture Morning
A series of stimulating and interesting lectures have been
organised by Newcastle University as part of the Numbers
Festival, appealing to students in Years 10-12.
Organised to cater specifically for older students, Newcastle University
have organised a Maths Lecture Morning to take place on the city
centre campus.
The Maths Lecture Morning will take place on Tuesday 30th June and
will consist of two lectures:-


‘Yeah but is it significant?’ - Dr Jennifer Rogers, Medical
Statistics Lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical
Medicine, will focus upon statistical significance and chance.
‘How to be a Card Magician’ - Professor Fernando Blasco,
Universidad Politecnica de Madrid, presents an entertaining and
practical talk on the mathematics behind magicians magic
shows.
Both lecturers are highly entertaining and knowledgeable in their field.
Dr Rogers is an expert statistician and has appeared on TV programmes
including ‘Long Live Britain’ and ‘Mystery Map’, in which she calculated
the chance of dying from spontaneous human combustion!
Prof Blasco is one of Spain's best known maths promoters, using magic
to introduce topics such as knot theory, topology, numbers systems and
quick calculations. He has also collaborated on many Spanish TV
programmes.
This event will appeal to students in Years 10 to 12. The format of the
lecture morning is as follows:10.00am
10.45am
11.00am
Lecture 1
Break
Lecture 2
Bookings for the lectures should be made by contacting the Great North
Maths Hub via email, clearly stating the number of students and
teachers attending the event.
Please contact [email protected] to book.
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Newcastle University will stage a series of lectures for
secondary school pupils
On a musical note
Ever wondered how maths and music are
related? In his lecture ‘Musical Talk on the
Mathematics behind Music’, Ehrhard Behrends
from Freie Universitat, Berlin will investigate the
association between the two seemingly separate
areas.
This talk will examine some basic mathematical and
musical concepts from the very beginning. The
lecture is addressed to all students with maths or
musical interest, and will also include a short
musical interlude.
The lecture will take place on Friday 3rd July at
12.30pm-2pm, at Newcastle University city centre
campus. Tickets for the event can be obtained by
emailing [email protected]
Follow us on Twitter @GNMH_mathshub
Keep up to date with all the latest TEDx
Newcastle Developments by following their
Twitter feed @TEDxNewcastle
TEDx Newcastle Event
On the afternoon of Sunday 5th July, TEDx Newcastle will take
place at the Hancock, Great North Museum. Ticket sales are
now open.
If you are not aware of TED, it is an not for profit organisation devoted
to educating people around the world. The idea started in California 25
years ago as a 4 day conference whereby the speakers’ presentations
were recorded and then circulated for free. The idea has now evolved
and is recognised globally as a free source of knowledge.
Previous TED speakers include such notables as Bill
Gates
The TEDx events are self organised and the content of the conference is
designed to suit the audience. The TEDx Newcastle conference will take
place on Sunday 5th July, tickets and further information can be sought
by visiting www.tedxnewcastle.com. The conference is open to the
general public, but there will be a small charge to attend.
Moving Ahead
We have finally embraced the technological age and have
added to our social media profile with the inclusion of our very
own Maths Hub App. The App is the ideal way to effectively
and quickly communicate with our growing audience.
We have now launched our Maths Hub App. The app has been
developed by ESApps Ltd and will provide us with another method of
communicating with schools in our region.
Our new app has been developed in association with
ESApps Ltd
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The application is free to download and can be found by searching for
‘Great North Maths Hub’ in your mobile providers app store. Users will
be able to keep up to date with key information including new project
announcements, calls for participation and events, as well as being able
to download our latest newsletters and information brochures.
c/o Churchill Community College
Churchill Street
Wallsend, Tyne & Wear
NE28 8TN
Tel : 0191 234 7229
Email : [email protected]
Twitter : @GNMH_mathshub
www.mathshubs.org.uk/greatnorth