Studying the highest levels of HSC mathematics can be daunting, especially if you’re the only one in the class.
Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) has launched a new online forum to support those who take on the challenging subject at a specialist-led event hosted by The University of Notre Dame, where Mathematics Extension 2 students from 27 Sydney Catholic high schools got a 360-degree view of the career possibilities high-level mathematics creates.
Held at the University’s Broadway campus on 29 August, the event allowed the 89 students to hear from experts on four of the most challenging topics in the course – Inequalities, Induction, Mechanics and Circle Geometry. A panel discussion at the end of the day gave students insight from past Extension 2 students on how the subject related to careers in fields including engineering and medicine.
Megan Nguyen is one of 10 Mount St Joseph Milperra Year 12 students who study mathematics Extension 2. Megan, who plans to become an engineer, was inspired to take on the challenge by her sister and cousin who had done the course in 2013 and 2017.
“The subject is mentally straining so it’s nice to have people you know helping you through,” she said. “The day has been really good, especially because all of the lecturers have been very clear in explaining things and very welcoming.”
“In the HSC period when we’ve already graduated there’s not as much opportunity to contact our teachers and they may be under their own workload, so talking online to like-minded people and teaching them your knowledge, and the reverse, getting more knowledge from them, is helpful. Knowing that this can be applied in the future to real-world situations gives it more relevance and makes it more interesting to learn.”