Almost 90 students from across the country attended, all selected through a competitive application process. So, we’re incredibly proud that 10 of those selected were from Co-op Academies - representing North Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent, Bebington, Walkden, Leeds, and Priesthorpe. Each of them is part of our Maths Excellence Programme, which supports mathematical talent across our schools.

We were also delighted to see two of our Maths Graduate Excellence Specialists taking part as event facilitators. They supported workshops and mentored students throughout the camp.

Over three exciting days, students took part in lectures and activities linking maths to sport, geometry, crowd modelling, and artificial intelligence. They analysed penalty shootouts with Tom Rocks Maths and explored game theory using challenges like Golden Balls and the Prisoner’s Dilemma. They discovered how experts model crowds at large events, such as Glastonbury and Wembley, predicting evacuation times and crowd movement. With Think Maths, students explored fascinating mathematical shapes like the torus, witnessed a smoke machine create a giant doughnut, and solved quirky utility problems on mugs and doughnuts!

The hands-on sessions were just as thrilling. From launching bottle rockets in the evening to tackling creative team challenges like building spaghetti towers. On the final day, students focused on AI and machine learning, using gumball machines to model how algorithms learn from experience. This offered a fascinating glimpse into the maths behind modern technology and everyday applications like chat systems.

We’re so proud of our students who represented the Trust so brilliantly at Cambridge:

Luca - Co-op Academy North Manchester 

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Matthew - Co-op Academy North Manchester

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Namarigh - Co-op Academy Leeds

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Ciann - Co-op Academy Leeds 

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Eloise - Co-op Academy Priesthorpe 

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Darin - Co-op Academy Priesthorpe

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Furqan - Co-op Academy Stone-on-Trent

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Zakriya - Co-op Academy Stoke-on-Trent

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Alex - Co-op Academy Walkden

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Kiera - Co-op Academy  Bebington 

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Each of them showed not just mathematical skill, but teamwork, curiosity, and confidence - everything our Maths Excellence Programme aims to inspire. The camp gave our students a taste of university life and showed how maths can explain (and even predict) the world around us. 

They returned inspired, motivated, and ready to apply what they’ve learned this year!