With just days to go until it starts, 336 classes from 78 schools across Edinburgh and the Lothians have now signed up to take part in Scotland’s first ever nationwide online school maths contest, being run by Scottish education technology social enterprise Sumdog.
Pupils taking part across the Central Scotland region are joining more than 1,800 classes from more than 450 schools across Scotland that plan to compete in the contest, which is being organised to coincide with National Digital Learning Week, running from the 15th – 19th May.
The contest itself will remain open for further entries to take part right up until it commences this Friday, the 12th May, concluding the following Thursday 18th May.
Pupils taking part work together as a class to answer correctly as many maths questions as they can over the period of the contest. The overall winning class will be announced at a special event in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 24th May.
Supporting the contest is mountaineer and motivational speaker Jamie Andrew who lost both hands and both feet to severe frostbite following a mountaineering accident in the Alps. Jamie has used his experience to give motivational talks to young people across Scotland, helping inspire them to realise their full potential.
Sumdog is a game-based learning system specifically designed to improve skills and attainment in maths and literacy and carefully aligned to the Curriculum for Excellence. It has proven success in addressing educational attainment in pupils from the most deprived backgrounds and today is regularly used in half of all Scottish schools.
A recent major study of the use of Sumdog in Glasgow schools found that pupils who spent an average of one hour per week using Sumdog progressed three times faster than those who used the website and apps very little or not at all. A majority of pupils taking part in the study attended schools in areas of high deprivation, demonstrating the positive impact of Sumdog use in closing the educational attainment gap.
Organised by Education Scotland, the theme of this year’s National Digital Learning Week will be “Digital Difference” with teachers and pupils invited to share and celebrate digital approaches that make a positive impact on classroom practice.
Commenting on the launch of the online maths contest, Sumdog CEO Andrew Hall said: “Sumdog is delighted to be able to support this year’s National Digital Learning Week with the launch of Scotland’s first ever nationwide online school maths contest. The response we’ve had from Central Scotland schools wanting to take part has been fantastic. But the contest doesn’t start until Friday so there’s still time to sign up if you haven’t done so already.
“Our games-based learning system is a great example of a digital learning tool that motivates and enthuses pupils about maths learning while helping schools close the attainment gap. Taking part in the contest should be a great way for teachers and pupils to celebrate National Digital Learning Week, improving maths and numeracy skills while working together as a team and having fun.”
Juniper Green Primary School in Edinburgh already regularly uses Sumdog to support maths teaching in the classroom. Head Teacher Anthea Grierson said: “Using Sumdog as part of our multi-pronged approach to teaching maths has been effective in raising maths attainment at Juniper Green. It has brought the ‘fun’ back into maths and children are motivated and excited to learn.”
Jamie Andrew added: “Speaking as someone who has learned a lot from the challenges I’ve faced, I’m delighted to be supporting the launch of Sumdog’s online maths contest. The greatest thing my own experiences have taught me is that our greatest limitations are the ones we impose on ourselves.
“Sumdog is clearly committed to helping pupils throughout Scotland, no matter their background or the individual challenges they may face, to be the best they possibly can be. By signing up for this contest, I would encourage every pupil to take advantage of a fantastic opportunity to prove what they can do and to develop the confidence to achieve their full potential.”
Full details of the Scotland-wide online school maths contest and how to sign up to take part are available by visiting http://www.sumdog.com/en/Scotland_Contest/
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