Elisa Bostock, Sales & Marketing Manager and Andrew Diver, Head of Tax for Beatons Group with pupils at Sprites Primary School in Ipswich as part of a visit by local firms to highlight the importance of maths in business.
Maths was the lesson of the day when Beatons Group joined representatives from local businesses and visited Sprites Primary School in Ipswich to explain the subject’s importance within the workplace.
Year 6 pupils heard how maths was used in the visitors’ firms and were then given number-based tasks to complete.
The event was part of Suffolk County Council’s “Raising the Bar” initiative to improve standard in education, with the firms invited by Suffolk enterprise agency Menta and Lloyds Bank.
Teacher Suzanne Welton said: “It’s great to get people into the school and show pupils how useful maths is in real life. We can teach them the curriculum but it’s invaluable when they can see for themselves how maths is actually used in businesses like these, day to day.
She added: “As well as seeing how maths works, it was also useful to see the different jobs people do. I’m sure it’s given a lot of the children a better idea about the world of work.”
Beatons marketing manager Elisa Bostock was enthusiastic about being involved in this project, “Part of the process of teaching is to engage your pupils in the practical applications of the subject. It makes the learning real, valuable and helpful. When you were young how many times did you ask yourself– ‘but why is the use of Maths even remotely applicable to...life?!!’. Hopefully we can provide some practical examples which will make some of the concepts that are taught in the classroom come to life.”
Beatons are really happy to get involved with the Raising the Bar project to help to give children in Suffolk insight into the practical applications of maths in day to day life. To make maths more relevant and inspire them towards engaging more with their studies and towards a successful career and to be the entrepreneurs of the future.
Other organisations involved in the exercise included Ipswich Building Society, Jane Hamerton Personalised Towels, Waitrose, GenR8 and Glorious Fodder.
http://www.eadt.co.uk/business/pupils_learn_about_role_of_maths_in_the_workplace_1_3462162