A record-breaking win for students in MEI’s FE Maths Challenge 2023

Waltham Forest College students broke the Tarsia challenge record, winning first place in the MEI’s FE Maths challenge against 16 other colleges.

A group of five students from Waltham Forest College competed in the Further Education (FE) Maths Challenge, organised by Mathematics Education Innovation (MEI). MEI’s Further Education (FE) Maths Challenge is a competition for post-16 students who are working towards gaining a Functional Skills maths qualification or improving their GCSE maths grade.

The finals took place at Goldsmiths University, with 17 colleges from across London competing. The atmosphere was charged with excitement and anticipation as contestants were presented with the Kahoot Quiz and the Tarsia Jigsaw Puzzle. Waltham Forest College students won the first round (Tarsia Challenge) with a record time of 5 minutes and 9 seconds, breaking last year’s Leicester College record of 9 minutes and 11 seconds. They went on to battle in other rounds and were crowned 1^st place in the MEI’s FE Maths Challenge 2023.

Members of the winning team were Ali Sheer Khan Akhtar, Katerina Borisova, Hilal Khan, Erike Markou, and Vladlena-Khrystyna Zaremliuk.

Head of Maths at Waltham Forest College, Ambica Sanger, commented: “The students worked well as a team, despite only four sessions together before the challenge. This is a great victory for our learners and a tremendous achievement for our college.”

Janet Gardner, Principal and CEO of Waltham Forest College said:

“I am delighted that our students have been able to demonstrate their skills, confidence, and resilience in winning this regional competition. As an aspirational College, we always encourage our students to think big and we are so proud of their fantastic achievement.”

For more information or if you would like to apply for a course, visit the College website at www.waltham.ac.uk, where you can also register for the June Open Event.