Countdown challenge for Chilton pupils

Countdown fun at Chilton

Competition was fierce but friendly for the latest Maths and English challenge when Chilton Primary played Countdown.

The challenge is based around the popular television show and featured four teams representing the Roman, Saxon, Norman and Viking houses under the spotlight in a special assembly.

Contestants from Years 3,4,5 and 6 were put through their paces to answer tough questions based on their times tables and spelling knowledge in front of a packed school hall.

Countdown champs – the Vikings team

The competition started with the children aiming to answer as many times table questions up to 12×12 in a minute. In true Countdown style the next round saw children using their numerical skills to reach a target number.

In the second part of the competition, spellings became the focus. First, the teams had to answer as many spellings as they could in a minute, and then they used a series of letters to make the longest word they could.

Teachers Amy Tammaro and Helen Rowland-Hill organised and led the competition. They said: “Collaboration, resilience and courage were three values the pupils employed to strive to succeed.

“The teams had plenty of support from their peers in the audience who also took part in the challenges. After a close competition, the Vikings were crowned Chilton Countdown Champions and received vouchers for their efforts.

“All teams were celebrated for their success as their level of engagement and involvement was commendable and so all received a prize for taking part.“

Miss Isaac was stationed in the ‘dictionary corner’ and reflected her word wizardry in providing word facts to the children, while Mr Abel provided the calculations required to get to the correct number in the Maths round. Mr Wheeler updated the scoreboard and awarded points for collaboration

The Countdown assembly was first launched earlier this year as part of the NSPCC fund-raising numbers day at Chilton, and it proved an instant hit. The organisers say the next Countdown challenge will be in the new academic year from September.

Head of School Kate Law said there was a real buzz of anticipation for the competition. She added: “It was a new idea for us earlier this year and it was such a success that children were eagerly anticipating the next competition – and it lived up to all our expectations.

“It is a lot of fun and it is also another way for our girls and boys to engage with our important curriculum areas of Maths and literacy.

“It was a close competition and all the participants performed really well under pressure. We are already looking forward to the next time when Chilton does Countdown.”