Great way to escape
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ELGIN Academy pupils have planned the perfect great escape.
A group of S2 and S3 students have won a national competition to design an escape room and as a reward that design has now been made real.
Cracking the Code asked students from all over the country to create a space prison of the future.
Prisoners then have to use logic and their initiative to break out in time and avoid being ejected into space and lost forever.
Elgin Academy pupils Kelly Price, Carrie Brown, Lexi Sayle, Jonathan Affleck, Josh Hanover made up the winning team HMS Supernova.
The youngsters were crowned at an event at The Crystal in London this year, where nine team finalists from across the UK presented their designs to a panel of judges. Cracking the Code was run in partnership with the innovation companies Nesta and Tata Limited.
The contest is part of a series of pilot projects seeking to find the most effective ways to increase young people's interest in maths.
David Landsman, executive director of Tata, said: "I've been looking forward to the opportunity to visit Elgin Academy and congratulate the team in person for their achievement.
"From what I saw, they really enjoyed the experience. But for us at Tata, there's a serious point too – cracking the maths code provides the opportunity to escape into many different great careers.
"Our businesses range from salt to steel, tea to IT, premium cars and luxury hotels. I hope the Elgin Academy team will be a great example of what young people can do with maths, and what maths can do for you."
Lynne Weir, Elgin Academy's principal teacher of Mathematics, said: "To believe and try something new and different is courageous and makes me extremely proud of Josh, Carrie, Kelly, Jonathan and Lexi.
"Very much an innovative and hard-working team, they are a credit to the academy and their families.
"This is an exciting opportunity for all our young people to realise that if they work hard, there are great rewards out there."
Elgin Academy also received £2000 to support maths programmes in their school as a result of winning the competition.
Councillor Sonya Warren (Buckie, SNP), chair of Moray Council's children and young people's services committee, said: "This success was a proud moment for all involved.
"I hope every pupil that experiences the space prison escape room thoroughly enjoys it."
