Students at Northampton College are looking forward to earning an honest crust in their future careers after mastering maths and celebrating the concept of Pi.
March 14 is known as ‘Pi Day’ in honour of the mathematical equation referring to the the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter. The number, approximately equal to 3.14159 and known by the symbol π, appears in many formulae across mathematics and physics.
Students from a wide range of courses joined in with a series of activities to mark Pi Day and raise the profile of maths across the college at all levels.
Art students, maths students and those on the vehicle refinishing course all teamed up to produce a sculpture highlighting Pi’s significance, while all students took part in a Pi Day starter activity in their vocational and maths lessons. Catering students joined in by providing perfect pies to all students involved.
Kirsty Coogan, maths quality and development manager at Northampton College, said: “Creative collaboration between the maths, art and vehicle refinishing areas has culminated in the creation of this fantastic sculpture.
“Using coloured circles to symbolise of the main focus of Pi and the sequence of number as the ratio, the students have really bought the concept to life.
“We want all students and staff to feel they can embrace numbers as it is such an important part of our everyday lives. Work like this helps to raise confidence and awareness that we can all learn more about the importance of maths and find fun in developing this understanding and learning new skills.”
The Pi Day activities were aimed at promoting collaboration between staff and students working together across different curriculum areas within the college.
Kirsty added: “The sculpture is a celebration of the relationship between maths and art. For centuries artists, designers, scientists and mathematicians have understood the unique relationship between the creative process and numbers. The patterns and rhythms we see in the world around us can be understood through numbers and Pi is a wonderful example of this relationship.”
