Tens of thousands of Kiwi kids and their teachers have added, subtracted, multiplied and divided their way to a new world record.

They’ve spent all Wednesday and Thursday challenging other students around the world in quick-fire 60 second online maths games as part of the world’s biggest education event - World Maths Day 2010.

We are now awaiting confirmation that a new Guinness World Record for the Largest Online Maths Competition has been set, with students from over 230 countries around the world involved.

Final results are still being verified and collated, but classes from Devon Intermediate in New Plymouth and Upper Moutere School near Motueka have placed within the Top 50 classes in the world in the 9-13 age category.

Rob Haddock, Principal of Tahuna School, has taken out New Zealand’s top honours in the over 18 category for Teachers and Parents, although he noted that his final score was nowhere near that of his son, who was in the 9 - 13 age category.

“It’s a fantastic performance from our Kiwi kids once again, and I congratulate them all for giving it their very best” said Yvonne Blanch, the New Zealand CEO of 3P Learning, the company that hosts World Maths Day. “2010 has more than exceeded our expectations. We’ve managed to break the world record set last year, with a record number of students from around the world correctly answering 479,732,613 questions over the 48 hour period.”

“We have had amazing feedback from schools about the enthusiasm World Maths Day has generated around maths in their schools. Students are showing a real passion for numbers and over the 48 hours they’ve shown an increase of both speed and accuracy in answering basic maths questions,” said Yvonne Blanch.

Once results have been verified, calls will be made to the top New Zealand place-getters in each category to attend a live playoff at the Planet2010 Conference at SkyCity in Auckland on 13 March.

Students around the world are already looking forward to next year’s challenge. In 2011 the World Education Games will be hosted in Auckland. New Zealand students will be able to welcome the young people of the world to compete in expanded format challenges over the course of a month, incorporating World Maths Day, World Spelling Day and World Science Day.

“Plans are already underway to make the very first World Education Games an event to remember” said Yvonne Blanch “and I’m thrilled and proud that New Zealand has been chosen to host this prestigious event.”

2010 Student Winners:
Ages 5-8 Avit P, Thailand (36,202 questions)
Ages 9-13 Kaya G, 12 years, Australia (43,007 questions)
Ages 14-18 David A, Australia (26,662 questions)

2010 School Winners
Ages 5-8 Our Lady of Lourdes Primary, Class 5EA, UK, (243,701 questions)
Ages 9-13 Cempaka Schools, Class F1Y7 Team MO, Malaysia (418,363 questions)
Ages 14-18 Cempaka Schools, Class F3Y9 Team A, Malaysia (365,387 questions)

About World Maths Day:
World Maths Day had a humble beginning in 2006 with a trans-Tasman, Bledisloe Cup inspired clash between school kids in Australia and New Zealand. This was followed later that year by a mathematical Ashes competition between children in England and Australia. Finally in March 2007, the event went global and became World Maths Day. Today the event reaches more than 200 countries.

Students participate in mental arithmetic games, playing against other students in real time using the World Maths Day online program. Each game lasts 60 seconds and involves arithmetic problems including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and minor equations. Whilst students and schools can participate whenever they like throughout the official 48 hour event, only 500 challenges (1 minute each) count towards their individual or class points score, Hall of Fame and Medal tallies. This allows all students the opportunity to compete for a medal regardless of other school commitments.

The questions are appropriately levelled for different ages and abilities. There are three age divisions within which students compete: 8 years and under, 9-13 years, and 14 years and over. Each age division experiences a different level of difficultly.


World Maths Day 2011:
Next year in 2011, World Maths Day will be even bigger again, becoming part of The World Education Games. This will be a global education event where students and schools from schools around the world will unite to set a new world record for the number of questions correctly answered in maths, spelling and science. The World Education Games will take place on the first three Wednesdays in March and will include World Maths Day (2 March 2011), World Science Day (9 March 2011), and World Spelling Day (16 March 2011).

About 3P Learning:
3P Learning is the global leader in online mathematics learning for school-aged students with its flagship learning platform, Mathletics, used by more than two million students worldwide.

The Mathletics learning platform also includes a game engine which allows students from around the globe to compete live against each other in answering mental arithmetic questions.

3P Learning’s mission with Mathletics is to engage every student every day with a personalised, responsive and intelligent learning resource that inspires a delight in maths and an innate drive to better results.

3P Learning is also the creator and host of World Maths Day, held on the first Wednesday in March. It is a free web-event where students from across the globe unite to answer mental arithmetic problems in a multi-player game environment. This has become the world’s largest education event with 1,133,246 students from 235 countries competing in 2010.

3P Learning has headquarters in Sydney, Australia, with learning support teams in New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa, United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.