Academy is changing attitudes to maths

"I'm not afraid of fractions or decimals anymore."

Twelve-year-old Karewai Ngatai-Young didn't like maths, describing the subject as being "scary and not fun".

This changed, she says, when she started Maths Academy at Eltham Primary School. "I can help my friends now when they are stuck, as I understand how numbers work and how to work with them."

Karewai is one of several students benefiting from Math Academy, taught by Eltham Primary School teacher, Sonia Vind.

"The students come out of their regular class to work with me, and each session is focused on making the subject fun. By losing their fear of the subject, students are able to tackle more complex problems as they go on."

"I thought Maths Academy sounded hard, but it's not at all, it's all about playing with numbers." John-Lloyd Garabillo (11) says he enjoys coming to the sessions. "I understand how to come up with strategies to solve problems and like being able to help my friends in class using stuff I have learned here."

Hemi Witeri (11) never used to put his hand up in class to answer maths questions. "Now I am confident that I will have the right answer and can explain how I got it."

Seeing the students change from having a fear of numbers to a love of them is, says Sonia, one of the greatest rewards in teaching. "They are an absolute pleasure to teach, and there is nothing better than to have a child turn around from having always said they hate maths to telling me it is their favourite subject."