Mathematics
ECIS Maths League Winners
A number of Year 6 DESS pupils took part in the 17th ECIS (European Council of International Schools) Mathematics League during March 2008 and 17 of them were awarded ECIS pins and diplomas. The tests were administered under strict examination conditions and comprised of three 40 minute papers each containing 6 quite difficult questions. The winners were Hasan Khan, Jack Staley, Koray Kerr, Ben Chevin, Daniel Blease, Swagat Soni, Moawiya Al Shunnar, Dylan Patel, Lidia Rzeplinska, Alex Regan, Sophie Wells, Nikita Tourani, Fan Yu, Zeinub Saiyed, Jo Summers, Charlotte Pugh and Daksha Agarwal. We would like to not only congratulate the winners on their achievement but also all of those pupils who actually took part but did not quite reach the necessary score to be awarded a diploma.
If you believe that maths standards are falling then have a go at the paper yourself! Allow yourself 40 minutes per paper (no calculators allowed) and see how well you do! (answers supplied - the answer to question 6 Paper 3 is incorrect but we're not going to tell you what the real answer is !!!!!! )
Click on the ECIS logo for a pdf copy of the question papers with answers
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Mathematics is a language through which humans make sense of the world and organise their lives. Think how difficult it would be now to get through a day without using any maths. at all.
Would you know when to get up if there was no such thing as accurate time?
How would you buy goods and services without any money? Even if you had a form of money, how would you be able to count out how much you needed?
And of course there would be no computers or Internet, as they all run on the binary number system.
We use the National Numeracy Framework from the National Curriculum of England. This sets out the objectives to be taught in each year group, giving a clear progression of skills from Reception to Year 6.
From September 2007, the curriculum consists of 7 strands, which are covered at different levels in each year group:
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At DESS we use a variety of teaching and learning techniques to make the learning experience focused and fun. That means our pupils are motivated to learn and see the relevance of what they are learning.
'Understanding' is key to making good progress in maths. So activities, questions and discussions which promote this are a feature of lessons.
They could be creative…
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They might involve water…
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Pupils may work collaboratively in groups or pairs…
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Equipment and real objects may be used to aid understanding…
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Pupils might get physical… (one class practices their times tables, matching answers to actions)
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For the first time on 13th March 2007 (World Maths. Day), DESS took part in a global World Maths. Day event. Pupils from Year 1 to 6 used the Internet to compete in online mental maths. challenges. Students loved competing against their friends and also other pupils from around the globe. We were part of a world record breaking event where over 38 million mental maths. calculations were answered during the day.
Two DESS pupils were lucky enough to win mp3 players, Rupert (5 Orange) answered the 13th millionth question and Johnny (4 Red) answered the 38th million question. Both were pleased to receive their prizes in the post a few weeks after the event.
DESS was the 19th highest contributing school, out of 98 schools that took part. Well done to everyone.
Pupils in Year 5 and 6 had the opportunity to take part in the Primary Maths. Challenge organised annually by the UK based Mathematical Association.
In November 2006, about 80 DESS pupils took part. The gold medal winners were invited to take part in the 'Finals' in February. As less than 1500 pupils from around the world are given this opportunity, it was a fabulous achievement for DESS to have 5 pupils in this select group. In the Finals, Ziyan scored high enough to win a bronze medal.
Page updated 21/09/2007