Young Mathematical Story Author Success!

Livi and Alice (Year 9) were delighted to have been selected for the short and long-lists respectively in this year’s Young Mathematical Story Author (YMSA) competition. Founded in 2019 the international competition aims to encourage pupils between the ages of 8 and 15 “to embed their mathematics learning in a meaningful and engaging context through creating their own mathematical story picture book.”

The competition is run by the charitable organisation, MathsThroughStories.org and was founded by Dr Natthapoj Vincent Trakulphadetkrai, Associate Professor of Mathematics Education at the University of Reading. The judging panel also includes two of the world’s most prolific and best-selling mathematical story authors, Stuart J. Murphy and Cindy Neuschwander. The criteria this year included the ability to represent the chosen mathematical concept contextually (in words), visually (via page illustrations), and symbolically (via using correct mathematical symbols, notations and language) as well as coming up with an engaging plot and story reflecting gender and ethnicity balance in character choices.

Livi who was shortlisted for the 2022 award commented, “I think it’s a really interesting process because it’s not something that you normally would consider when writing a story but to be able to combine two cross-curricular subjects is a fascinating process. It allows you to have a deeper understanding of the Maths because you have to look into it and think how you are going to explain it. One of the most inspiring things for my story was bouncing ideas around in the classroom after the competition was announced, because the atmosphere was electric as we were so excited, and afterwards, my head was full of creative ideas for a story! Other children’s books such as That’s Not My Unicorn also inspired my drawings.”

Leighton Park offers a real focus through the Science Technology Engineering Arts and Maths (STEAM) initiatives which bring together the logic of science with the creativity of the arts to ensure effective problem solving. Alice reflected on her own storytelling success saying, “I think it’s really great because it’s a really interesting concept to learn and teach mathematics through stories.”

Head of Maths and Director of Studies, Mary Boyd, values greatly the educational benefits of an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning. The Mathematics department relishes the opportunity to work with other departments but really loved this one to work with English – not a usual pairing in many schools! – so that our students and teachers can develop their ability to really think critically about the mathematics that they are doing  so that we can develop mathematical thinkers more so than just procedural mathematicians.

“To see both Livi and Alice short-listed and long-listed respectively on a global stage, amongst so many incredibly impressive international entries in the Young Mathematical Story Author, is a true source of joy for us and them.“ commented Mary.

Sally Saunders, Head of Year 9, added, “I am so proud of how well Livi and Alice have done.”