Gifted and Talented Activities

University of Liverpool Maths Club

The University of Liverpool Maths Club meets monthly from September to April, usually on the last Saturday of the month. It is aimed at KS4 and KS5 pupils who are gifted and talented in mathematics. Each date consists of two interactive sessions, lasting from 10am until 12.30pm. There is a refreshment break between them and an optional light lunch is provided afterwards. Attendance is free of charge.

Click here for more details and to download an application form.

Through the registered charity MEM (Mathematical Education on Merseyside), we also have a significant role in organising and delivering:

Masterclasses

We run a series of five Masterclasses in Liverpool for able and enthusiastic pupils.

These take place on alternate Saturdays during the autumn term, and are hosted at the University of Liverpool, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool John Moores University and Ridgeway High School on the Wirral.

Teachers are welcome to nominate up to three pupils from their school, who must be in Y8 or Y9 at the time they attend the Masterclasses, and must NOT have attended a previous MEM Masterclass series.

We are strictly limited by space to 60 pupils, so please ensure that the pupils you select are free on ALL of the dates and are aware that they are expected to attend ALL five sessions. This allows the maximum number of pupils to benefit.

Some places are reserved for winners of our Challenge competition; these places are funded by the Liverpool Mathematical Society. We ask schools to contribute £30 towards running costs for each pupil that they themselves nominate to take part in the Masterclasses. We request that schools, where possible, meet this cost from school funds to avoid disadvantaging pupils who wish to participate.

Click here for more information and to complete the web-based application form (when registration is open).

Challenge Competitions

We run two take-home competitions for pupils to complete during the February half term holidays.

• MEM Challenge for Year 7 & 8 pupils
• MEM Senior Challenge for Year 9 & 10 pupils

Copies are posted in January to all local high schools and to anyone else who has registered an interest. Click here for more details and to download the latest question paper (when current), as well as an archive of previous years’ questions and solutions.

The deadline for returning entries is on the front of the particular question sheet and is usually early March.

There is a prize-giving evening held at the University of Liverpool, generally in early May, after which the solutions are posted on the website.

Additionally, the Liverpool Mathematical Society runs a similar competition, Open Challenge, which is aimed at sixth formers.

Work Experience

We offer opportunities for work experience at our department, mainly in the form of short mathematical projects supervised by staff members. The main aim is to give students insight to the work of a research mathematician, not necessarily at a university, but also in research-intensive companies. As a side effect, students will see how a university is organised and what is required to study mathematics at a university, helping them to decide for (or against) a UCAS application for the subject.

Our main format for work experience are the Summer Projects where a number of students come together in July and work on small mathematical projects supervised by a staff member. The length of the project is flexible and can cover several weeks, with weekly meetings, or more condensed in two or even one week, depending on availability of students and supervisor. Summer Projects can be done in teams of 2 to 3 students, and we offer the opportunity to present the results to an audience of students and staff members after the summer holidays.

Places for Summer Projects are limited. We also require more advanced prerequisites, so only take on students already in Sixth Form. We advise younger students to watch out for other opportunities to visit our department described above. To choose among the incoming applications, please fill in this form: Your chances of getting accepted are increased if you describe your motivation to work on a project in more detail - this can include previous mathematical activities that you undertook in and away from school, like other outreach activities of our department or mathematical competitions.

You can also fill in the form if you cannot take part in the Summer Projects in July. Staff members may decide to supervise you at a different time of the year more suitable to you, but this relies completely on their willingness to do so. Once again, we can only take on students already in Sixth Form.