MATHEMATICS was used to good effect for Year 10 students at Crediton’s Queen Elizabeth’s School when they watched a cutting edge show called "Beyond My Control".

The show, presented by a drama group from the Northcott Theatre in Exeter, was an innovative collaboration with the University of Exeter Mathematics department, that aspired to investigate the maths and science behind epilepsy through the medium of interactive drama.

The show was described as fascinating and well-received by the students with comments such as: "It was good to see how maths is used in the real world” and: “It helped me learn about maths and science in a different way” being common amongst the feedback received.

Using the backdrop of a family conversation about a young couple moving in together, the audience got to select what might happen next, by altering the character’s range of influence over each other and thus changing the network flow and dynamics of the situation.

They compared this to a brain wired up to different points, with an electrode to measure the electric flow between different nodes, so they could analyse when an epileptic fit might occur.

For the students, it was a new type of maths, that could be applied to a lot of different life situations such as traffic control or even classroom management.

At the end of the performance, there was an informative session with mathematics researchers from the University of Exeter, who fielded a wide range of questions.

QE have said that overall, it was a very positive and informative afternoon for everybody involved!

Alan Quick