Success at UKMT Senior Maths Challenge

‘Portsmouth Point published more articles in 2020 (545) than we had in any twelve-month period previously (breaking the record of 485 articles set in 2013)’.

the reputational collapse of Game of Thrones, the significance of Donald Trump as an actor, the challenge of watching old TV shows in an era of cultural change, the problems with Disney live-action remakes (and other franchising disasters) or the cultural legacy of The Dandy, Nick wrote with extraordinary wisdom and wit on the ways in which film and television shows mirror the complexities, and contradictions of the societies that create them.

We published two wonderful issues of Portsmouth Point magazine this year, one focused on the theme of ‘Time’ (December 2020) and the other on ‘Progress’ (July 2021). In total, they featured 60 scholarly and detailed articles on subjects from genome editing to the significance of pseudonyms, the politics of statues, the importance of bees, the redefinition of Tragedy in Bojack Horseman, diversity in the fashion industry and the impact of health care on the environment. As always, I am grateful for the invaluable support of our Head of Photography, Oliver Stone, and our magazine designer, Clara Feltham; I am also thankful for the enthusiasm and engagement of so many colleagues who write such interesting, varied and inspiring articles for blog and magazine. Editing Portsmouth Point remains a genuine privilege.

James Burkinshaw Editor of Portsmouth Point

Success at UKMT Senior Maths Challenge by Kang Shen

Itook part in the UKMT Senior Mathematical Challenge, which sought to test mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency of using basic mathematical techniques in problem-solving. I did the challenge last year so I was quite excited about it during the half-term. To prepare, I tried some past paper questions for preparation but did not spend too long on them as I thought the challenge itself was testing the understanding of mathematical principles rather than asking solutions to particular kinds of questions.

Due to the impact of COVID-19, this year’s challenge took place online. The questions in the challenge were based on what we had learnt within the A-Level syllabus, but more challenging than the questions we were used to as we needed to think in different ways to try to find the solutions. I really enjoyed the 90-minutes completing the considerable challenge. Some of the questions were nice and interesting; I could get some beautiful expressions as I worked through them, and sometimes questions that looked complicated turned out to be quite simple. That is the fun of Maths. After the Senior Mathematical Challenge, there were the following rounds: the Kangaroo challenge (which I was involved in last year) and the Olympiad challenge. Candidates who got high scores will be invited to the Kangaroo challenge and people who gained the top scores are attending the Olympiad challenge. Few people got in the Olympiad challenge last year who achieved amazing grades and I am looking forward to seeing the results this year.