At the end of last school year, I went up to Leeds to take part in a ‘Maths Summer School’ run by the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust. This was a result of the score which I achieved in the Intermediate Challenge in February. The Summer School works as a week-long ‘barrage’ of maths lessons (with breaks!), introducing students to new concepts and other VERY exciting ideas surrounding geometry, combinatorics, number theory and other fields.

The food was served three times a day from a top-class kitchen at Woodhouse Grove School – the site for the summer school this time around. Every meal was high quality, with a full English breakfast available every day and varying dinners each time. My personal favourite: all of them!

The other students I met were a diverse bunch, ranging from apathetic to eccentric, but of course they were all there for a common reason so they did not seem so much like strangers. By the end of the week we were practically all friends.

Overall I would recommend the experience to anyone who gets a chance – the staff are always ready to help you, most of the other students are too, the atmosphere is relaxed and you do maths all day. What’s not to love?!

Matthew (Year 11)