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This academic year started with a bang — quite literally — with the STEM trip to CERN, organised by Ms Cooper.
CERN Trip
By Evangelina
In the autumn term, we travelled to CERN in Geneva, where our group delved into the fascinating world of particle physics. The museum showcased the fundamental building blocks of our universe, highlighting particles such as quarks and leptons. A standout exhibit focused on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).
I learned how the LHC accelerates particles to near-light speeds, leading to groundbreaking discoveries such as the Higgs boson. The interactive displays made complex concepts accessible and emphasised the importance of science communication. We also took part in an experiment using dry ice and alcohol, which allowed us to observe particle interactions — modelling what happens in the LHC. This visit deepened my enthusiasm for STEM and demonstrated the collaborative nature of scientific research.
By Catrin
On the last Friday in September, at quarter to five in the morning, a group of thirty STEM students and teachers met at Heathrow Airport. After a delayed flight and train, we arrived in rainy Geneva. Our first stop was the UN buildings, which we toured — visiting conference rooms and viewing art, even listening in on an official debate. While fascinating, we were especially excited for CERN (the European Council for Nuclear Research), which we visited the next day.
CERN is home to the world-famous Large Hadron Collider as well as 25 other active experiments, which we learned about through exhibits and demonstrations. We also attended a talk by Dr Paula Collins, a scientist working on sensor development at CERN, who gave us incredible insight into daily life as a researcher. We finished the trip with bowling, museum visits and a walk along Lake Geneva. A huge thank you to all the teachers who made this trip possible!
Christmas STEM Lecture
Mrs Wootton organised this year’s annual Christmas STEM Lecture, featuring mathematician Simon Singh — a popular author, journalist and TV producer. He has won a BAFTA for his Horizon programme on Fermat’s Last Theorem. As a warm-up to the event, Mrs Wootton recorded a reading of the first chapter of his book as part of Dr Haywood’s Channing Reading Initiative.
The event was a sell-out, with students, parents and partnership schools enjoying Simon Singh’s reflections on his career, his books — and even The Simpsons! Attendees had the chance to meet him and have books signed while enjoying mulled wine afterwards.
Competitions and Events
Ms Hadley organised a fabulous joint House competition with the Junior School. Students competed in timed rounds to build cubes using pyramids, solve Sudoku challenges, complete number relays and tackle a maths-themed crossword! It was fantastic to see Year 6 and Year 7 students collaborating so enthusiastically. Ms Hadley also ran the ever-popular Maths Ellery programme in the spring term. This year’s challenge, Alien Invasion, had students using a wide range of mathematical techniques to locate aliens and save their fellow students!
Year 6/7 Maths House Competition
This year’s STEM Week had a medical theme, in keeping with Ms Cooper’s vision. Students enjoyed maths jokes and puzzles during form time and were invited to guess which famous mathematician Mr Bowman had dressed up as — including Pythagoras, Einstein and Newton! Year 7 completed a Puzzle House challenge in lessons; Year 8 tackled Egyptian number puzzles; and Year 9 marked Pi Day with a trip to Bletchley Park and the National Museum of Computing.
Years 10–13 enjoyed a fascinating talk on STEM within Medicine from Channing parent Dr Judy King, a consultant oncologist at the Royal Free Hospital. She spoke about her career and her ground-breaking work in immunotherapy.
Year 10 Maths in Action Trip
Half of Year 10 attended the Maths in Action conference at the Emmanuel Centre, Westminster.
By Eleanor C and Georgie F
“Last Thursday, Year 10 Sets 1 and 2 went to the Emmanuel Centre to attend the Maths in Action talks. We began with Alison Kiddle, a maths communicator who asked whether it was more likely to be struck by lightning or win the lottery. Using probability theory, we explored how maths applies to everyday life — and even how it helped her on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”
Next, Zoe Griffiths shared her favourite shapes and wowed us with a display of smoke rings. Before lunch, we solved puzzles led by Guardian writer and author Alex Bellos. A maths teacher then shared her tips for GCSE success — including the story of how she taught her daughter maths at age five!
Finally, broadcaster Emily Grossman spoke about interpreting statistics on live TV, and how maths helps us assess the reliability of studies. The day ended with a fun game of mathematical Heads and Tails — Isla M represented our school. Though we didn’t win, we had a fantastic time. Thank you to Mrs Wootton, Miss Williams, Mr Bowman and Ms Diaz for a fun and inspiring trip.”
UKMT Mathematical Challenges
It’s been another brilliant year in the UKMT Mathematical Challenges, with many students earning Gold, Silver and Bronze certificates and qualifying for follow-on rounds. Highlights include:
Senior Challenge
- Best in Year 13: Scarlett D
- Best in Year 12 & Best in School: Elise C
- Best in Year 11: Daisy A
Intermediate Challenge
- Best in Year 11 & Best in School: Kira S
- Best in Year 10: Imogen B
- Best in Year 9: Annika S
- Follow-on round qualifiers: Annika S, Imogen B, Kira S
Junior Challenge
- Best in Year 8 & Best in School: Lara G
- Best in Year 7: Madison Y
- Follow-on qualifiers: Lara G, Liliana B, AayuM
Well done to Liliana for achieving a Bronze award — especially impressive immediately after school exams!
Puzzle of the Week & Other Competitions
The Puzzle of the Week competition remains as popular as ever! Mrs Williams’ and Mr Daurat’s Year 9 class had the most correct answers and won the class competition, with Mr Daurat’s and Mrs Wootton’s Year 8 classes as runners-up. The top individual prize goes to Lara G in Year 8 for the most correct answers across the year!
Other highlights:
- Maths Feast at Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School: 8 Year 10s enjoyed a day of puzzles, coding and 3D visualisation.
- Senior Maths Regional Competition: Channing’s sixth form team (Elise C, Catherine S, Maddie B, Scarlett D) competed against 30 other schools.
- Hans Woyda Competition: Milla C gave an outstanding debut performance in Year 9.
- Mathletics Club: Thanks to Mrs Williams and Mr Bowman for sharing their maths tricks each week!
Sixth Form Mentoring & Outreach
We’re so grateful to our Sixth Form students who have supported the department throughout the year. Many Year 12s have mentored students from Years 7–11 and helped run our popular Maths Drop-In sessions on Thursdays. A special thank you to subject leader Ashani for her commitment across all areas — including the Simon Singh lecture!
Yael, Saskia, Caelle and Charlie have played a key role in running the Problem Solving Club for partnership primary schools, in collaboration with Channing Junior School.