Royal Institution Mathematics Masterclasses

Every year the University of South Wales organises a series of Royal Institution Mathematics Masterclasses for key stage 3 and key stage 4 students from around South Wales. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Welcoming 250 students onto the university campus, the events cover, over a period of seven weeks, a range of topics from Cryptography to the maths of music. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The Royal Institution is an independent charity dedicated to connecting people with the world of science. As well as organising Mathematics Masterclasses, the Royal Institution has hosted the Christmas Lectures since 1825 which have been shown on TV since 1936. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

In addition to the on-campus events, Dr Sian Jones, a mathematics lecturer at the University of South Wales, went to the Royal Institution’s Mathematics Masterclass Organisers conference at the Royal Institution in London in June. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The day involved meeting other masterclass organisers from around the UK and experiencing different mathematics activities. Dr Jones attended to a number of talks, including the ‘Magic of Squares’ and ‘Aurora: In Search of the Northern Lights.’ ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​