Budding-filmmakers from Hollygirt School have been award first prize in a prestigious national competition earlier this month (3 September) at the MoMath MATRIX conference run by MathsWorldUK and the University of Leeds.
Students from across the country were invited to take part in the competition by submitting a five minute video exploring the work of a great mathematician of their choice.
Hollygirt’s winning team – consisting of 14-year-olds Tilly Daley, Tatziana Field and Alisha Zeb – chose Alan Turning as the subject of their video.
Tilly, from Burton Joyce, said: “We chose Alan Turning because we think he is really inspiring. No one believed him, no one thought he could do it but he proved them all wrong.
“This competition has been a wonderful experience. Filming is something I’m really interested in and it was really great to make a film from scratch.”
Tatziana, from Southwell, said that the competition gave her a chance to try her hand at something new. She said: “I’ve never done any filming before and I’ve really enjoyed doing this project. It’s made me want to make some more films. We’ve all enjoyed everything in front of and behind the camera.”
The award was presented by notable mathematician and BBC TV personality Dr Hannah Fry at this year’s MoMath Maxtrix conference – an annual conference where hundreds of maths delegates gather annually.
Alisha, from West Bridgford, said: “I’ve not always enjoyed maths but going to the prize giving at the conference was really exciting. I really enjoyed the talks that I heard and they were not what we expected.
“Mr Thomson our music teacher has been fantastic with helping us with all the technical bits and teaching us how to edit our video into its final cut and Mr Sud our head of maths has been cheering us on the whole way!”
Passionate mathematician and head of department, Deepak Sud said he was extremely proud of the students who took part. He said: “I was really impressed by the way the girls took to the project. They did all their own research and the finished thing is fantastic.
“The competition win has had a ripple effect on the rest of the school. It has meant that we’ve started off the new school year with a buzzing atmosphere – especially in the maths corridor. Other students have seen what Tilly, Tatziana and Alisha have done and it does give everyone a bit of a boost.”
Headmistress at Hollygirt Pam Hutley said: “The girls have worked so hard on this project and I am absolutely delighted that they have won. I am delighted that we won against stiff competition and on our first foray into film making”
The winning video can be found here: https://youtu.be/0ACeIBDQUx0
