Wolves Foundation linked up with the Professional Darts Corporation to teach primary school pupils maths skills using the power of darts.
The Bullseye Maths session, delivered by Room 180 Academy, took place inside Aldersley Stadium and allowed 30 children from SS Peter and Paul Primary Academy the opportunity to experience the venue that is hosting the PDC’s Cazoo Grand Slam of Darts this week.
The Year 6 pupils were also joined by a special guest at the oche, with World Number 38 Alan Soutar stepping up to show them how it’s done by the pros.
Soutar is having a good week in Wolverhampton, with the Scot qualifying from his group to reach the last 16 of the tournament.
He said: “I’ve had a day off to relax with a bit of practice so it’s good to give a couple of hours back. When you see the kids going away from this laughing and having a bit of camaraderie it’s brilliant – I love doing this.
“I’ve been playing darts for over 30 years, and have also been running my own darts academy in Scotland for 10 years, so I understand what (sessions like this) are trying to do.
“Maths isn’t always a cool subject, it isn’t glitzy. But if you can play darts and have fun at the same time you probably don’t realise you’re getting better at mental arithmetic too.”
The children tackled various maths games on practice boards, particularly working on their two and three times tables using the doubles and trebles around the dartboard.
Pupils also took the opportunity to quiz ‘Soots’ about his experiences as a professional darts player, and also had their photos taken on stage with the PDC World Darts Championship trophy.
Bullseye Maths was launched by the PDC in February, with support from family maths charity Maths on Toast, and forms part of the 2022 Maths Week England scheme from November 14-18.
“I find it really inspiring. Seeing the children throw some darts for the first time is massive, because a lot of these children have never even heard of darts”, said Gary Horsley, Bullseye Maths coordinator with Room 180 Academy.
“Around 6000 people have been involved in the project so far and everybody just loves it. It’s creative, it’s different, it’s vibrant and most importantly it’s unique, and all these kids will hopefully go away and say how good it was.”
SS Peter and Paul are one of Wolves Foundation’s school partners, with coaches regularly delivering sessions at the school.
Jonathan Warburton, education and skills manager at Wolves Foundation, added: “It was great to engage the children in something a little different, perfectly linking in with the Grand Slam of Darts taking place in the city.
“At the Wolves Foundation, our key mission is to use the power of sport to motivate, educate and inspire local people, and it’s great to see a large sporting organisation such as the PDC sharing this aim.
“Alan Soutar was fantastic with the children and we’d really like to thank him for giving up his time for the pupils. We’re sure he’s gains a lot of new fans too!”
For more information about Bullseye Maths please visit pdc.tv/maths. A range of activity packs, including Bullseye Maths, are also available here.
