Fawley (29 July 2008) -- Year 10 pupils aged between 14 and 15 from seven local schools took part in the 11th annual Esso Maths Challenge at Totton College at the end of June. The competition lasted just over an hour and comprised problem solving questions designed to challenge the teams of pupils and stimulate discussion about mathematics.

Esso and ExxonMobil Chemical at Fawley are the annual sponsors of this event and provided Totton College with £1,000 of funds. Out of the 17 teams involved, the Mountbatten School, Romsey, was victorious, just one point ahead of Lymington’s Priestlands School. Richard Hammond, a design engineer from the Esso refinery, presented the winning cheque of £700 to the Mountbatten School team, with the funds to be used to support the teaching of mathematics. The school has used the funding to purchase data capturing sensor devices for a new set of Texas Instruments Inspire Graphical Calculators.

Michael Wragg, competition organiser and a maths teacher at Totton College, said: “I am always impressed by the ability of pupils to solve these very challenging maths questions. The key to success, apart from being very good at maths, is the ability to work as a team.”

Totton College Graphic Art students were also involved in the event through a competition to design the official poster. AS Level student Olly Chivers received a colour iPod for his winning design.

Gisela Muns of Fawley Refinery Community Affairs said: “This is a great opportunity for us to encourage the study of Maths in schools. This subject is highly important, leading to many careers such as engineering. In the future these talented pupils could even find themselves working somewhere such as Fawley Refinery.”

(Next year’s Esso Maths Challenge will be held on Wednesday 24 June 2009.)