It's a New Era and a ‘New Normal' for Newcastle Permanent Primary School Mathematics Competition
After two years of disruption due to COVID-19, the Newcastle Permanent Primary School Mathematics Competition is heading back to class this Wednesday, July 27, including in the Hunter region, where more than 12,400 students from 159 schools are registered to take part.
These students will be following in the footsteps of Charlie Drew, of Newcastle East Primary School, who last year scored a perfect 100 per cent to take out first place in the Year 6 competition.
This year, with the world returning to some semblance of normality, Newcastle Permanent is taking the competition back to the classroom – albeit in the ‘new normal’ of a hybrid competition, with some schools choosing to compete on paper, while others will do so online.
Lockdowns saw the 2021 edition held completely online for the first time, although that did not dampen any enthusiasm for Australia’s largest and longest running competition of its kind, with a record-breaking number of students registering to participate.
And with more than 20,000 students registered for this year, the competition is on track for another record-breaking year.
Kerrie Armstrong, Assistant Principal at Tighes Hill Public School, said her students had adapted brilliantly to all the challenges that came along over the last few years and it was great to be sitting the online competition at school.
“Our students have shown wonderful resilience to adapt to all the challenges of the last few years,” said Ms Armstrong.
“Being able to participate in the Newcastle Permanent Primary School Maths Competition online makes for a great mix of the new and the old.”
Newcastle Permanent CEO Bernadette Inglis said moving the exam entirely online in a matter of weeks last year was a challenge, but also brought the opportunity to reach a number of new schools and new students.
“While we’re delighted that the competition, which is now in its 42nd year, will return to the classroom for about 30% of participants, we are also excited to host a large number of students online this year, including a number of new schools and their students,” she said.
“Smartphones mean almost everyone now has a calculator on hand at all times, but being able to do maths in your head or on paper is still a critical life skill. So while our competition is embracing technology, the same rules from the very first competition, held in 1981, still apply: no calculators and no rulers.
“Our competition is about students applying their numeracy and problem-solving skills to real-life scenarios, helping to illustrate why and how lessons learnt in mathematics can be brought into everyday life, and we’re really proud of that. Plus, there’s the opportunity to win some great prizes!” Ms Inglis said.
Prizes
Newcastle Permanent proudly presents a range of awards and prizes to the best performing students and schools across the state.
These include:
Newcastle Permanent complimentary prize accounts for the Year 5 and Year 6 divisions for overall first (worth $250), second ($150) and third place ($100).
Regional awards for the top performing students in each region (worth $50) will also be presented.
A Newcastle Permanent Perpetual Shield awarded to the school whose student has the highest score in the competition for Year 5.
A Newcastle Permanent Perpetual Shield awarded to the school whose student has the highest score in the competition for Year 6.
All other students will receive a certificate which will be awarded as follows:
A High Distinction Certificate for the top 1.5% of students in both Year 5 and Year 6.
A Distinction Certificate for the remaining top 15% of students in both Year 5 and Year 6.
A Merit Certificate for the next 30% of students in both Year 5 and Year 6.
All remaining students will receive a Participation Certificate.
Maths competition numbers
More than 330 schools taking part in total: 230 online and more than 100 paper-based
Around 20,400 students have registered to sit the exam: almost 13,300 online and more than 7,100 paper-based
Almost 600,000 students have registered to participate since the Competition’s inception
