Everything adds up for Harrington Sound Primary School students who are losing their fear of mathematics and have completed the first guided maths programme.

They have done so with the assistance of volunteers from Deloitte Ltd, who have attended classes each Tuesday to support the Mastery in Mathematics project.

The purpose was to improve students’ attainment and enjoyment in mathematics through a mastery approach to learning.

The children learn through reasoning and problem solving tasks before moving on to new topics, resulting in pupils feeling confident in their learning and retaining this knowledge over the longer term.

Mark Baumgartner, audit and assurance partner at Deloitte, said more than 20 staff volunteered for the programme.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to work with the students and to see just how much enthusiasm they have for math. We would also like to thank all the teachers and staff for their support,” he said.

Adam Unwin Berrey, chief executive officer of Primal Academic Innovations Ltd, said: “A study by Deloitte in 2012 identified 10 per cent of employment in the UK to be involved in high-end mathematical analysis and mathematics research, and it is believed that since then, this figure has increased considerably.

“As we prepare young Bermudians to engage within a global workplace, it is essential that we provide them with the skills required to succeed in this expanding employment area.

“This project has assisted Harrington Sound Primary School in meeting this need, supporting pupils in their preparation to meet the challenges of a continuously changing world with confidence and success.”

He said that to ensure pupils are confident in mathematics, it is essential they “truly understand” the subject and have the ability to problem-solve, identify links with the topic, and explain their conclusions.

Mr Unwin Berrey said: “To achieve these goals, we must ensure our teachers have the time, materials and training to support learning; therefore we are thankful of Deloitte, the Bank of Bermuda Foundation and Bermuda Communities Foundation for their support in this project.”

Cindy Weeks, acting principal at Harrington Sound Primary School said: “The mathematics initiative that we embarked upon this school year has been well worth the investment.

“We recognised the need to improve mathematics comprehension school-wide, and we set about to make this happen.

“The opportunity for our students to have regular tutelage with Deloitte volunteers has been invaluable.”

She said that students had become more comfortable with mathematics instruction and execution. We are pleased to see that the students’ fear of mathematics is being eroded.

She thanked Mr Unwin Berrey for his efforts in preparing pupils for the initiative, and the Deloitte volunteers for their commitment.

She added: “I am also so proud of our teachers, who continue to work tirelessly to teach, nurture and encourage our students.

“Finally, we thank the students, for all of their hard work and we look forward with anticipation to the 2019-2020 school year, when we can continue this tutoring programme with Deloitte to improve understanding of mathematics across the entire school.”

Elizabeth Cava, Partner in audit and assurance at Deloitte, said: the programme aligns with the company’s global WorldClass societal impact initiative, through which Deloitte worldwide is committed to preparing “50 million futures for a world of opportunity by 2030”.

She added: “WorldClass aspires to increase commitment and investment in education, skills development and access to opportunities locally and globally. It represents an exciting and bold ambition, and we are honoured to have been able to work with Harrington Sound Primary to make an impact that matters.”