West House – A School You Can Count On
West House School in Edgbaston marked National Numeracy Day by acknowledging unprecedented mathematical success in The Mathematical Association Primary Mathematics Challenge (PCM) and the UK Mathematics Trust Junior Mathematical Challenge. While the school has previously enjoyed fine sets of results in both challenges, this year’s tally of certificates has smashed previous records.
In November 2022 almost 58,000 pupils took part in the PCM with 3,700 children nationwide progressing to the Bonus Round, including 11 West House boys. After a nervous wait, the final results came through and revealed that the school had secured 3 gold certificates, 4 silver and 2 bronze. With only 382 gold certificates awarded nationally, particular congratulations go to Mahan C (Year 6), Thomas B (Year 6) and Kamran H (Year 4) on securing a gold place finish.
Such success was mirrored in the UKMT Junior Mathematical Challenge, aimed at all pupils in Year 8 or below and specifically designed to promote a love of problem solving. An excellent set of results saw 5 gold certificates, 11 silver and 4 bronze being awarded to West House Boy with Taran E (Year 6) qualifying for the highly prestigious Olympiad bonus round, and Thomas B (Year 6) and Joen Mathew (Year 6) putting up a fine performance in qualifying for the Junior Kangaroo bonus round.
Long serving Headmaster, Alistair Lyttle, handed out the multiple bronze, silver and gold medals to boys in a special assembly on Wednesday 17th May to coincide with National Numeracy Day.
Mr Lyttle told the school that he was, “immensely proud of the all the boys that participated in the competitions,” adding that during his 20-year tenure as Headmaster he’d seen many talented mathematicians, but this year’s results were “truly remarkable and testament to all the hard work that the boys have put in during their lessons.
Just for good measure, Kamran, who last summer passed his GCSE mathematics exam at the age of seven, also came first in the recent annual Wrekin Maths Challenge.
Mr Joe Regall, Head of STEM at West House School, commented, “The boys have a real passion for mathematics and constantly want to explore and discover more about the subject. They love solving puzzles – the more complicated, the better!”
