Eleven primary schools are advancing to the quarter-finals of the Maths Up Max Up competition, an initiative aimed at tackling students’ fear of mathematics and encouraging them to persevere as they prepare for the SEA and CSEC examinations.
Project Lead Adanna Williams said repeated reports of students giving up on the subject, coupled with continued failures, motivated her to take action.
“Students continue to say, ‘Maths is hard. I can’t do it. I’m going to lie down. I’m not going to do the paper.’ And every year I continue to see students fail this exam. And challenges are part of life. And we as parents, teachers, and all stakeholders need to continue to encourage our students not to give up. And I said, ‘Let me do something about this.'”
She added that the competition is intended to build confidence among students while equipping teachers with tools to assist students struggling with mathematics.
“So this here is to help students and also teachers to have that hope that, yes, we could see SEA students go from that minimal success in mathematics, and we go right up for 100. Teachers, wouldn’t you like that? To hear your students go to the exams and say, ‘Miss, I did well,’ and we want that for each and every child in our nation’s schools. So this competition is a microcosm of what will happen in our society.”
To ensure fairness and accuracy, Head Game Host Sharon Phillip noted that the competition’s questions were reviewed by qualified professionals before the event.
“All of our questions have been vetted by the qualified mathematics people. So the mathematics people have checked the questions. They have said yes, they are good, and they are there to provide explanations along the way. So we are depending on them, and we are thanking them in advance for the work that they are going to be doing.”
The schools advancing to the quarter-finals of the Maths Up Max Up competition are Barrackpore APS Vedic, TML Primary School in St Joseph, El Socorro Central, Carapichaima Roman Catholic, Jordan Hill Presbyterian, Athenian Pre-Secondary School, Marabella Boys’ Anglican, Monkey Town Government, Windemere Private School, Avocat Vedic and Anstey Memorial Girls’ Anglican.