16 December, 2021
Students at Ormiston Rivers Academy have been taking part in a range of national and global STEM challenges.
The challenges included an exciting maths contest and a global computer science competition, both of which support the school’s aim of encouraging students to consider a career in STEM.
Excitingly, two students from the academy’s sixth form have successfully progressed to the next stage of the prestigious “Senior Mathematics Challenge”. This is an annual competition, organised and run by the University of Leeds, where sixth form students from schools across the UK are invited to participate in university-level mathematics challenges.
While only the first time Ormiston Rivers Academy students have participated in this event, two students came within the top 5% of entrants, and have progressed to the next gold stage. Meanwhile, three other students achieved silver, and a further eight achieved bronze.
Students at the academy have also been taking part in the global Bebras Challenge during their computer science lessons. The challenge involves participants completing a range of different tasks that require a diverse skillset. Students from over 50 countries around the world took part, showcasing the universal connections that a career in Computer Science can have.
Gold certificates were then awarded to the students who scored in the top 10% in their age group nationally, which included 30 students from the academy. Following this, they have all been invited to participate in The Oxford University Computing Challenge (OUCC) that will run in February next year.
The students really enjoyed being able to use the knowledge that they have been learning in their computer science lessons in order to find solutions to real-world computing problems.
Joanne Williams, principal at Ormiston Rivers Academy, said: “Firstly, I want to say a huge congratulations to all students involved; we never cease to be amazed at the outstanding achievements of all of our students. Their hard work and excellence have really shone throughout both competitions, they are truly inspirational.
“At Ormiston Rivers, we endeavour to give all our students the best possible opportunities and experiences to engage with their subjects. While we remain committed to their educational development, we also want to ensure we are demonstrating the full potential of STEM subjects.”
Category: News
Tags: Maths challenge, Rivers, Senior Maths Challenge, Sixth form
