This event followed closely on from the hugely successful Year 4 Maths Challenge held on 26 January and forms part of the school’s Challenge and Extension Programme, which aims to inspire a love of mathematics while encouraging pupils to think deeply, creatively and collaboratively.

This year, we were pleased to welcome 21 schools, each represented by a team of four pupils. The challenge was expertly led by Alison Hopper and Kath Moore from Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI), an educational charity dedicated to transforming lives through maths education.

Pupils tackled a wide range of engaging and demanding challenges, drawing on mathematical reasoning and logical thinking. Activities included calendar-based problems, Sudoku-style puzzles, spatial reasoning tasks, visual conundrums such as counting triangles, mathematical word searches and shape-based challenges. Each correct answer earned teams a new segment of a dragon, with bonus fire points available for certain questions; the overall aim being to answer as many questions correctly as possible to build the longest dragon!

After an afternoon of impressive teamwork and thoughtful problem-solving, Falkland Primary School emerged as the winners, with Cheam close behind as runners-up. Congratulations to both teams, and to all pupils who took part and rose enthusiastically to the challenge.

Parents were invited to join us for a special afternoon tea ahead of the prize-giving, providing a lovely opportunity to celebrate the pupils’ achievements together.

At St Gabriel’s, we place great importance on mathematics as a core life skill and are proud to create opportunities that stretch, challenge and inspire young learners. Events such as the Maths Challenge also reflect our commitment to working collaboratively with local schools, sharing expertise and fostering a wider learning community.

We would like to thank Alison Hopper, Kath Moore and MEI for their continued support, and all the schools who joined us for such an enjoyable and rewarding event.