East Anglia Offshore Wind (EAOW), a 50-50 joint venture between Vattenfall and ScottishPower Renewables, has renewed its sponsorship of the innovative Maths Challenge organised by the East Anglian Daily Times (EADT) and Suffolk County Council for a second year.
The Maths Challenge was launched by the EADT and the County Council last year, to help aid the teaching of maths in primary schools across Suffolk. About 7,000 pupils from more than 120 primary schools took part in the scheme, which saw them use workbooks to complete challenging but fun maths tasks using stories from the newspaper.
Supported by ScottishPower Renewables and Vattenfall, the project was so successful that it is being repeated this year, with children taking up the challenge in the summer term. Just this week the Maths Challenge scooped a prestigious award at the World Congress of the International News Media Association (INMA), which was held in New York. The project won the PR and Community Service category at the awards, which attracted 500 entries from 30 countries around the world.
Jason Martin, EAOW Programme Director, explained why the developers of the major offshore windfarm zone were keen to be involved in Maths Challenge again this year. He said: “ScottishPower Renewables and Vattenfall are looking to develop one of the most ambitious renewable energy projects anywhere in the world, potentially developing an offshore windfarm zone that could power up to 5 million homes. The engineers, technicians and operators involved in the East Anglia Offshore windfarm will use mathematics on a daily basis to help us understand how to design and deliver such a pioneering project.
“The energy industry is investing billions of pounds and creating thousands of jobs, and we want to do all that we can to encourage engineers of the future in to our industry and to benefit from these career opportunities. The Maths Challenge is an excellent idea that engages pupils in a positive manner, and is helping to improve maths attainment levels across Suffolk. It is a great example of a positive community partnership, and we were delighted to be involved in supporting the Maths Challenge again this year.”