HUNDREDS of Wimborne schoolchildren tackled puzzles and built paper pyramids as part of a maths event in November.

Youngsters aged eight and nine gathered at Allenbourn Middle School for the activity day, hosted by the Wimborne Academy Trust and organised by nationally-acclaimed mathematician Angela Gould.

CEO of Wimborne Academy Trust, Liz West, said: “It was fantastic to see so many children attend our two middle schools for this event.

“It provided all children with an invaluable opportunity to work collaboratively with their peers and use their problem solving strategies to tackle a variety of investigative challenges.”

The activity day was designed to get youngsters excited about maths.

Each task was directly linked with work in the classroom, with participants encouraged to focus on improving their problem solving and mathematical thinking skills.

Working in groups of four, the children undertook numeracy puzzles, made pentagons and solved fractions, decimals and percentages.

They also participated in a maths trail, tackling 10 challenges on the way.

At the end of the day, the children built pyramids big enough to sit in using 64 sheets of paper.

Mathematician Angela, national director of building motivation and attainment in maths, said: “I was delighted to be working with so many teachers and year four children at these events.

“It's terrific to see the children so enthusiastic for mathematics, engaging in a wide range of maths activities to improve their thinking skills and raise their classroom attainment.”