Over 28000 students take part in All-Ireland maths challenge

Over 28000 students from both primary and secondary schools throughout Ireland are currently taking part in LearnStorm Ireland, the free All-Ireland maths challenge that builds students’ confidence and competence. LearnStorm Ireland is open to students from 4th class in primary school up to 5th year in secondary school and students and schools can still get involved for the third of three LearnStorm cups as the challenge starts afresh every 3 weeks.

Since February, students from all over the country have fallen in love with maths, as over 28000 students of all abilities from every corner of the county have embarked upon the LearnStorm Ireland maths challenge. Over the last two months, students have been representing their class, their school and their county on leaderboards by learning maths online with Khan Academy, with the chance to earn a place at the All-Ireland final in Dublin at the end of May.

“Now in its third year, LearnStorm Ireland has seen over 28,000 students take up the challenge, up from 3,000 in 2014. This growth is a testament to the hundreds of schools and teachers across Ireland who have supported the challenge’s goal of increasing students’ competence and confidence in maths in Ireland. LearnStorm’s success is a story about the renewal of enthusiasm for the learning of maths in Ireland”, said Kelly Kirkpatrick of the O’Sullivan Foundation.

To put the level of participation in LearnStorm Ireland into context, the hugely successful BT Young Scientist Exhibition had 4,449 student participants this year and it continues to grow. In 2016, LearnStorm Ireland has over 28,000 students of all abilities and from every corner of the country participating.

According to Adam Bargroff from LearnStorm Ireland, “We are consistently told that students just aren’t interested in maths and find it too challenging. We are seeing the opposite with LearnStorm Ireland, as students can’t seem to get enough, with doesn’t support this claim as students continuing to take part outside of school hours and even during school holidays. In Ireland we have been blown away with the level of engagement with maths from students.”

“LearnStorm is free, fun and accessible from anywhere, but more importantly it is designed to reward the hard work and persistence of each student, something that the traditional method of maths education isn’t able to measure. The level of registrations from more than 28000 students in Ireland clearly illustrates that LearnStorm Ireland has struck a chord with students, as well as their teachers, parents and communities. Students are motivated and eager to complete more and more maths exercises and have embraced technology to fully take control of their own learning.” continued Adam Bargroff from LearnStorm Ireland.