Tuesday, 17 December 2024
25 of New South Wales’ most inquisitive young minds have explored how maths can shape their future career at the Newcastle Permanent Primary School Mathematics Challenge, bringing Year 5 and 6 students from across the state together in Newcastle.
The challenge celebrated winners and District Award recipients from the 2024 Newcastle Permanent Primary School Mathematics Competition, drawing participants from the Hunter and Central Coast regions, and as far afield as Port Macquarie, Dubbo and Orange.
From finance to medical research and even getting hands-on to extract DNA from a strawberry, the students were challenged to collaborate with their peers and imagine maths as something more than a subject at school through presentations and quizzes from professionals from Newcastle Permanent, the Hunter Medical Research Institute and the University of Newcastle.
Our Chief Distribution Officer Paul Juergens said that the maths challenge inspired students to dream big.
“This isn’t just about challenging students on paper, we want to challenge what they know about mathematics and its possibilities,” Paul said.
“More than 15,000 students participated in our maths competition this year, and we know that the interest in all that STEM can offer is growing and growing.
“At Newcastle Permanent we love being part of it, and the enthusiasm we saw from the kids today shows that they love being part of it too.”