A RECORD seven primary schools in the Crediton area sent teams of elite mathematicians to Queen Elizabeth’s School, Crediton, for the challenge of the QE Maths Cup.

The competitors started arriving at 8.15am for the event that was held at the Barnfield Campus for the sixth year running.

QE were delighted to welcome students from Landscore, Hayward’s, Sandford, Thorverton, Bow, Newton St Cyres and Cheriton Fitzpaine.

The morning session saw the teams begin intensive training on how to use the software that uses maths to simulate cars on a race track.

The room was buzzing as the teams sorted out their roles and shared out the vital jobs in the mission to get their team’s car to the starting grid.

The first hour saw a steep learning curve for all teams, with lots of experimentation and creative problem solving.

The morning practice race was won by last year’s winners, Landscore, with a dominant 1-2 in the final positions.

In the afternoon the teams were faced with a totally new track and it was back to the drawing board for everyone, as the challenge began again.

Being familiar with the system now, the teams had to meet the challenge with one-hour less! Eagerly the teams flew into action with a very streamlined approach.

Race planning was completed quickly and car tuning and adjustments were painstakingly scrutinised as teams tried to get every last drop of fuel to count.

The race finished at 2.55pm. A tense, exhausted bunch of Year 6’s watched the competition unfold on the big screen. The lead changed hands many times in the opening laps, with several drivers having near misses.

As time went on some cars suffered from the competition and had to retire.

Landscore soon led the way and looked in a commanding position until the last few laps when Bow’s car started gaining strongly.

It was neck-and-neck as the cars screamed toward the finish. Landscore looked to be home, but Bow just crept in to steal the title right at the end.

Congratulations to Bow on their first win of the QE Maths Cup.

Mr Blagden, Maths teacher at QE, said: “A massive thank you to all of the other competitors who were so impressive throughout the day.

“Immense team work, great spirit and highly creative thinking were all in evidence from all of the teams. A fantastic day.”