‘Going for Gold’ Numeracy Competition

Confidence in numeracy is a vital skill from early years to adulthood and it is well known that fluency in the basics underpins all mathematical learning.  The importance of timestables and number bonds is well documented but there other arithmetic skills which require a similar level of mastery to function effectively in every day life. 

In partnership with The Essex Year of Number Initiative, Methodmaths is hosting Going for Gold, an exciting Numeracy Competition open to all Primary and Secondary Schools across Essex from May to December 2024

Utilising our sector leading Maths learning platform, pupils will be given 24 7 access to a bank of self-marking numeracy questions that are supported by interactive hints and tutorials. 

Pupils go for gold by demonstrating mastery of each question. This is achieved by completing the additional sets of practice challenges that come with each problem and reinforces the mantra ‘Don’t practice until you get it right, practice until you never get it wrong’.

 Why enter the Competition?

The team at Methodmaths are obsessed with building confidence in fundamental arithmetic skills as these can have a big impact on exam performance and future success in life. After years of experience developing a maths platform that covers all age groups, it is easy to see that the numeracy demands placed on pupils at the end of Primary School do not necessarily match expectations at the start of Secondary School. It is even more evident that by the time pupils reach year 10 these basic skills are shaky and sometimes lost.

To challenge these issues we wanted to provide a fun and practical way of improving the transition between Key Stage 2 and 3 but also reminding Secondary pupils of the importance of keeping the basics ticking over.

Once entered into the competition, schools will aim to complete the most arithmetic questions based on the average achieved by active participants.  This is an opportunity for pupils in year 4, 5 and 6 to go head to head with pupils in year 7 up to year 10.

 Entry Fee

To enter the competition there is a small admin entry fee of only £200 for Secondary schools and only £100 for Primary Schools. This has been heavily subsidised by both the Essex Year of Number initiative and Methodmaths. Your entry fee will include:

  • Full access for your whole school, until December 24, to our Methodmaths platform which currently includes 35 interactive SATS papers and over 100 Pearson Edexcel GCSE practice papers to support exam preparation.

  • Admin training for a key member of staff in your school.

  • Login creation for all of your pupils either manually via spreadsheet or via our partnership with Wonde.

  • A monthly newsletter sharing news about the competition and our top 10 leading schools.

  • Access to your own school dashboard where you can monitor your rank position and the progress of individual pupils.

  • Email and telephone help for technical support.

 Prizes

The ultimate prize is proficiency in basic numeracy skills. For year 4 and 5 pupils, this will enable them to prepare and flourish in year 6. For year 6 pupils, the competition will encourage them to stay on top of their maths skills over the Summer and help get ‘Secondary Ready’. For Secondary School pupils, improving their numeracy skill set will fill them with confidence in Maths lessons and help them excel at GCSE. We all love some motivation so our competition prizes will consist of the following:

  • Certificates and badges that schools can award to their students.

  • £20 Amazon gift voucher for the highest performing student in your school or the first to complete the G4G challenge.

  • £500 prize for the highest performing Primary and Secondary School (to be spent on Maths equipment and resources)

  • School total scores will be based on the average score achieved by participants who have completed at least one question and will also reflect overall school engagement.

 Next Steps

To register your entry, please complete the following google form. Once received, we will create your account and begin the account set up process for your pupils. If you have any specific questions, please contact us on team@methodmaths.com