2025 – 2026 Highlights: Mathematics and STEM

It has been another busy and rewarding year for the Mathematics Department, with new colleagues, exciting STEM opportunities and a wide range of competitions, lectures and enrichment activities. We were delighted to welcome Miss Dias (who joined the previous year), Mrs Berry, who has also taken on the role of STEM Coordinator, Mr Raschke and Mr Bale (covering Ms Cooper’s maternity leave). Their fresh ideas and expertise have made a valuable contribution to the department throughout the year.

Brussels STEM Trip

Our programme of overseas STEM trips continues to grow, with students now enjoying visits to Brussels, Copenhagen and Geneva (CERN). This year, 30 students from Years 10–13 travelled to Brussels, where the highlight was a day at the Euro Space Centre. Alongside the space-themed activities, students explored the World of Mind optical illusion museum, visited the iconic Atomium and its exhibitions, and saw the world’s largest dinosaur gallery at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences.

Ella C (Year 11) reflects on the experience:

Brussels was full of memorable experiences. The World of Mind was packed with incredible optical illusions and we took loads of amazing pictures. Prison Island was chaotic in the best possible way as we raced around completing missions together and trying to score points, and it was so much fun working with my friends. At the Euro Space Centre, my favourite attractions were the free-fall ride and especially the Space Rotor. It was incredible being able to stick to the walls purely because of the spinning. I loved it so much that my friend Leila and I went back four times! The Atomium was just as impressive inside as it was outside, especially with its amazing light displays. And, of course, the Belgian chocolates were delicious.

Our next overseas STEM adventure takes us back to Copenhagen in September 2026.

Christmas STEM Lecture

In December, we were delighted to welcome marine biologist Dr Russell Arnott to deliver the annual Channing Christmas STEM Lecture, organised by Mrs Berry. Dr Arnott spent the afternoon meeting Junior and Senior School students to discuss his research, career path and the ocean environment before taking students, parents and partnership schools on a fascinating evening journey through the remarkable “superpowers” of sea creatures, from tiny plankton to the blue whale. Afterwards, guests enjoyed the opportunity to meet him, have books signed and chat over mince pies and mulled wine.

Competitions and Challenges

Mr Raschke and Mrs Williams once again ran our popular Mathletics sessions, with particularly strong attendance from Year 11 students. During the autumn term, students prepared for the Hans Woyda competition before turning their attention to the UK Maths Trust Challenges, combinatorics, logic and mental mathematics.

Our Hans Woyda team represented Channing brilliantly, finishing the year with an impressive victory over St Michael’s Catholic Grammar School for Girls.

STEM Week, organised by Mrs Berry, centred on the theme of Curiosity and brought together the Mathematics, Science and Computer Science departments in a week full of puzzles, talks and challenges. Students enjoyed daily maths puzzles during form time, completed the popular Lanyard Challenge and took part in a range of activities across every year group. Year 12 STEM subject leaders launched the week with an inspiring assembly exploring famous accidental discoveries, including penicillin.

Year 7 tackled the Puzzle House Challenge and completed STEM Passports, while Years 10–13 attended a fascinating lecture by Rachel Honeyghan-Williams (UCL Ear Institute) entitled Zebrafish and Computer Chips: My Life as a Neuroscientist. Year 8 explored impossible shapes, while Year 9 celebrated Pi Day with a visit to Bletchley Park and the National Museum of Computing.

Evie S (Year 9) writes:

The National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park was packed with fascinating technology from across the history of computing. Our guided tour introduced us to everything from the Bombe — which wasn’t actually a computer — to Colossus, one of the world’s earliest large-scale electronic computers. One highlight was seeing an enormous calculating machine solving equations using punched paper tape. We also punched our own names into cards and watched a robot solve a scrambled Rubik’s Cube.

In the BBC Classroom we coded a simple version of Snake and, after hearing that the record was 1,000 seconds, I quietly edited my program to start at 2,000 — unfortunately it was lunchtime before I could claim victory!

During the afternoon we explored the history of artificial intelligence, from early robots to modern AI. One highlight was chatting with ELIZA, one of the earliest AI programs, whose amusingly awkward responses made everyone laugh. We also cracked a hidden code in the Fibonacci Room (although the promised free stickers never materialised!) before finishing with Morse code and cryptography challenges around the museum. It was a fascinating day that gave us a real appreciation of how computing has evolved.

Year 10 Maths in Action

Half of Year 10 attended the Maths in Action conference at the Emmanuel Centre in Westminster alongside Mrs Wootton, Mrs Berry, Miss Dias and Mr Raschke. The students enjoyed a series of engaging lectures, from Zoe Griffiths explaining the mathematics behind magic and card tricks to Ayliean MacDonald demonstrating the mathematical strategies involved in chess. It was also a pleasure to catch up with former colleague Mr Bowman.

UKMT Mathematical Challenges

It has been another outstanding year in the UKMT Mathematical Challenges, with students earning numerous Gold, Silver and Bronze certificates and several qualifying for follow-on rounds. Our thanks go to Miss Dias for organising the competitions so efficiently throughout the year.

Senior Challenge

• Best in Year 13: Aurora H
• Best in Year 12 & Best in School: Jessica L
• Best in Year 11: Emma F
• Follow-on round qualifiers: Valeria D, Jessica L and Natasha R

Intermediate Challenge

• Best in Year 11 Emma F
• Best in Year 10 & Best in School: Milla C
• Best in Year 9: Thea I
• Follow-on round qualifiers: Milla C

Junior Challenge

• Best in Year 8: Sarah F
• Best in Year 7 & Best in School: Leyan C
• Follow-on Kangaroo qualifiers: Leyan C, Darcy C, Sarah F, Helena S, Madison Y, Valentino F

Puzzle of the Week and Other Competitions

Puzzle of the Week continues to inspire plenty of healthy mathematical competition amongst Years 7–9. Miss Williams’ Year 9 class achieved the highest number of correct solutions overall, while Lara G (Year 9) currently holds the individual lead for the greatest number of correct answers. The competition perfectly illustrates the idea of the “Learning Pit”, encouraging students to persevere with challenging problems and deepen their mathematical thinking.

Our Sixth Form team also performed impressively at the Senior Team Maths Competition, finishing 12th out of 31 schools at the London Academy of Excellence in Tottenham.

Sixth Form Mentoring and Outreach

We remain enormously grateful to our Sixth Form students, who have supported the department throughout the year by mentoring younger students and helping to run our Thursday Maths Drop-In sessions. Particular thanks go to subject leaders Piper and Bella for their commitment across all areas of department life, including the Christmas STEM Lecture.

Our popular Problem Solving Club, run in partnership with Channing Junior School, has flourished again this year. Led by Year 12 students Amy and Lucia, the club welcomed between 10 and 15 primary pupils each week to enjoy model building, treasure hunts, seasonal maths puzzles, tangrams, Sudoku, times-table races and many other activities. Thanks to the enthusiasm of our Sixth Form leaders and the wider Maths Department, the club continues to be a vibrant and much-loved part of our outreach programme.