This year, I was fortunate enough to be selected as a Senior Student for the UKMT Leeds summer school. My role involved looking over the Juniors, giving them even more mathematics to think about to their hearts’ content.
The camp started with an icebreaker session upon arrival, building a bridge between two chairs. The effort of all the students proved fruitful, and the design was ultimately simple yet efficient! After the customary farewells to parents and a briefing, we went to dinner in our newly created groups of six, each led by a Senior student. Icebreaker activities followed, including some ‘puzzles’, some of which were pretty nasty! The night ended with a few group games including the likes of Splat and Mafia.
Monday marked the start of the proper schedule, with each following day roughly following a similar format. A lively breakfast with the Juniors, then some geometry in the morning. The masterclass was followed by ‘competitions’; some individual problem solving, followed by some groupwork then a relay. After lunch, the seniors began to prepare the Senior Surprise – the evening entertainment on Wednesday. Much discussion was had, until the theme of polyhedra seemed to prevail. Dinner was pleasant (especially the ice cream), then the Juniors had a talk about Conway’s soldiers. Games into the night, as before.
Dinner included some delicious ice cream.
Tuesday began with a surprise – one of my team’s Juniors had to leave the camp, leaving us one short! In the competitions, we had a lot of fun doing more problems. Robin gave a wonderfully explained primitive root theorem talk, and at dinner, we were permitted to sit with people other than those in our teams. And so the seniors formed their own group, with some extended chatting. Not to mention the card games played before dinner…
The UKMT had provided some entertainment for Tuesday night, namely bowling! A short bus journey took us to Shipley Gobowling, and the seniors were allowed two lanes, four people each. It was fantastic fun, and we managed to fit in two games – high score for me was 108! Highest score was 122! Back at the gallery, we organised a concert schedule, and after that I played a bit of piano on the keyboard present. Appassionata, Fantaisie Impromptu, and more! It was tremendously enjoyable.
Wednesday was an eventful day for the seniors. For it was the day of the Senior Surprise! Breakfast followed by morning geometry and competitions, then a wonderful talk given by Oliver about Cayley’s Theorem about counting labelled trees. In the evening, all the seniors gathered to present the Senior Surprise concerning polyhedra. We gave three sessions, the first two of which were introductions, and the last was a proof of the six colour theorem. It was very enjoyable to present.
Thursday morning was largely the same, and in the afternoon James gave a talk on Functional Equations. In the free session that followed, the seniors prepared their second surprise – a performance in the concert! The evening concert was a splendid array of talent, ranging from poetry to musical instruments. There was even a Dedekinds Hotter Cross Buns performance! I played La Campanella. The concert ended with a stunning Senior Surprise performance and the traditional Complex Numbers song. We were permitted to stay up for longer, and so games were played outside.
Friday was the final day, and we enjoyed our final geometry masterclass. There were two more relays, and then everyone moved into the sports classroom for the final round – the mathematical pub quiz. Eight rounds later, and the points were totalled up for all activities throughout the week. And leading by over a hundred points were the Dedekinds (my team hehe)! Fantastic!
Fish and Chips marked the final lunch of the camp, after which people started to disperse on their journeys. Photos were taken, and thanks to the staff were expressed.
Overall, the camp was a wonderful experience, especially as a Senior! Perhaps I may return in the future.