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Walthamstow School for Girls

"Inspiring Women in Maths" Conference

Year 10 Students attend conference at Imperial College

Inspiring Women in Maths Conference

On 29th September, 8 students from Year 10 had the opportunity to attend a fantastic conference at Imperial College. There were a variety of inspirational female speakers, starting with Rachel Riley from Countdown, a selection of workshops delivered by PhD students and ending with a hugely entertaining talk by Professor Hannah Fry.

Here is some feedback from the participants:

The day was really motivational and inspired me to study maths further. Also, the workshops were really informative. For example, I learnt that if a triangle is drawn on a sphere, the angles no longer add up to 180 degrees!  It was also interesting to learn that a degree in maths can lead to so many different careers. One speaker has access to all of the Oyster card touch in/touch out data and analyses travel patterns. She gave us some tips on the best times to travel to avoid the rush.
Sehr 10H

My favourite part of the day was the talk by Hannah Fry as she engaged the audience. Over the course of the day I learnt a lot about random numbers. I am now even more interested and inspired by mathematics than I was before.
Anchichiha 10C

My favourite part of the day was learning how to make mathematical braids and the lecture by Hannah Fry. I learnt that humans and computers are very bad at generating random numbers. I also learnt about bubbles and how they are being used to treat cancer. I found it really fascinating that an application of maths could lead to saving lives. The day was very inspiring as I had no idea that a degree in maths could lead to so many different discoveries. It’s great to study maths!
Hafsa 10S

My favourite part of the day was the talk by Hannah Fry as I could understand it and it was very interactive. During the day I learnt maths by making friendship bracelets and how common multiples affect the design. My perceptions of maths at degree level were changed during the day as I found that there are lots of different areas of study. It’s not all confusing.
Emily 10H

I really enjoyed Hannah’s talk as it was interactive, engaging and interesting. I never really thought about maths in that way before.  It was great to see the range of different areas that you can choose to study and find something that you are really interested in. You don’t have to pursue an area you don’t enjoy.
Katrin 10W

You too can be inspired by Professor Hannah Fry. Several youtube clips can be found here:

http://www.hannahfry.co.uk/youtube/

If you wish to have a go at mathematical braiding, look here:

https://nrich.maths.org/5778

Also, if you are at all mathematically curious, you may enjoy this new site, developed by students from Imperial College:

http://chalkdustmagazine.com/

See me if you would like to read a hard copy as I have a few left.

Ms Robinson
Challenge Coordinator

Awards