The Summer School joins the STEP Easter School for offer-holders as part of the extensive programme of support the University provides for aspiring mathematicians preparing to take the STEP exams.
In order to ensure that this support is available as widely as possible, new on-line resources have also been published by NRICH, part of the University's Millennium Mathematics Project. These are open to any student and freely accessible on the NRICH website. Both the STEP Prep summer school and the development of the free online STEP programme have been funded by a philanthropic grant from the Citi Foundation.
Led by Alison Kiddle from the NRICH project, with staff and students from the Faculty of Mathematics, students explored new tools and techniques for solving maths problems, received advice on applying to Cambridge, and were given tips on their STEP preparation by current maths undergraduates. There was also time for exploring the city and ten pin bowling.
Nathusha from Ealing enjoyed the social side of the summer school as much as the maths. “For me it was an opportunity to see how life would be if I chose a university away from home, and to experience Cambridge, and to meet other students from state schools like us. It has been a great opportunity.”
“I wanted to develop my understanding of what I need to do to successfully get through STEP – it’s very different,” explained James Couch from Plymouth.
The students worked in small groups with a mentor throughout the Summer School: “It was a good way to instantly see what you can and can’t do,” James added.
"Unlike an A level exam where students answer every question, students have to choose which questions to answer in STEP,” course leader Alison explained.
“The best way to prepare for this is to see and try lots of different questions, to develop the skill of quickly evaluating which problems are the most tractable for a student's own mathematical style.
“By starting their preparation early and using our online materials, these students have the chance to experience a wide variety of mathematical problems which will prepare them not just for STEP but also for their mathematical futures, whether in Cambridge or elsewhere."
Second year maths student Kweku worked as a mentor on the Summer School. “The problems the students have been tackling here have been harder than STEP questions. I hope that they will now understand that STEP questions will be hard but not unattainable.”
The University has used STEP for over twenty years as a key part of conditional offers for Mathematics because its research has found that STEP is a better predictor of success in the Mathematical Tripos than A-levels alone.
Although STEP questions are less standard and less structured than A-Level problems, they are based on material that is common to the core of A Level Mathematics, and therefore require no further knowledge, only the confidence to apply maths skills in new and unusual ways.
“The STEP Prep Summer School is part of our innovative early intervention strategy,” explains Julia Hawkins, Deputy Director of the Millennium Maths Project.
“We particularly wanted to provide online resources open to all maths students. This new section of the NRICH website is specifically geared to self-study preparation for STEP. New modules, each a mix of advice and activities, will be released fortnightly over the coming year.”
“We hope that, by encouraging and supporting students to start STEP preparation early, this programme will have a real impact on their chances of success.”
40 students from non-selective state schools have spent a week in Cambridge on a summer school designed to develop their ability to tackle challenging mathematical problems in preparation for sitting the STEP exam.
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