MET students finish second in MEI Maths Challenge regional final  

Four Brighton MET students who are retaking their Maths GCSE this summer finished second in the Go Forths category.

The Go Forths category, one of three categories in the competition, is for students whose highest GCSE grade, to date, is a grade three.  

They went up against students from Chichester College, Queen Mary’s College and Havant and South Downs College.   
 
The event, hosted by the University of Sussex at their Student Centre, concluded the last regional leg of MEI’s Further Education (FE) Maths Challenge, a competition for post-16 students who studying either Functional Skills or GCSE Maths.  
 
Elizabeth Hopker-Blunt, a mathematics education support specialist at MEI, explained: “Essentially, we wanted something to motivate and engage students who were really struggling and not particularly liking their maths.  

“What this gives them a chance to do is to compete with other students at their level to have a fantastic day out, and a fantastic journey through the competition from the class round through to the regional finals, and to really feel proud of their achievements.”  
 
The day began with some Tarsia puzzles, which involved arranging geometric shapes or cards to form a coherent pattern or solution, followed by a Kahoot quiz after lunch, and tours of the university throughout the day.   
 
Megan, one of the students who finished second in the Go Forth category, said: “The competition has given me confidence in my maths skills, and helps remind myself of certain maths skills that I need to remember for my GCSE.  
 
“It’s been fun to talk to people I probably wouldn’t have normally talked to, and get to know some different people.”  
 
K, who was also representing Brighton MET at the competition, added “it’s been very exciting and definitely new, I have never been in this situation before, so it’s good to get this far, to the finals.  
 
“I enjoyed working in a team in my college and doing the Tarsia puzzles because it involves a lot of talking with our partners.  
 
“Being on this challenge is going to help me to progress further in my CGCSE exam this year, I think it’s going to help me to improve my timing and thinking out each question properly.”