nrich problem solving year 8

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Nrich - a website with maths activities and games

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Resources to develop mathematical reasoning and problem solving. Nrich aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners and embeds rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice.

Structure and features

Activities and games can be explored independently or together with families.

The website covers topic such as:

• measurement
• problem solving

The 'Thinking Mathematically' sections provide additional educational activities.

Links and files

Teacher notes.

The resources are grouped into levels. Level 1 aligns with early years, while level 4 aligns with lower secondary. Teachers can use the search functionality to find tasks that match the topic that they are teaching.

The tasks are not mapped to the Australian Curriculum but align well with the mathematical concepts.

Page last updated: 12 Oct 2022

learningathome [at] sa.gov.au

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• The Number System and Place Value
• Calculations and Numerical Methods
• Fractions, Decimals, Percentages, Ratio and Proportion
• Properties of Numbers
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• Algebraic expressions, equations and formulae
• Coordinates, Functions and Graphs

Geometry and measure

• Angles, Polygons, and Geometrical Proof
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• Measuring and calculating with units
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Advanced mathematics

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For younger learners

• Early Years Foundation Stage

Problem-Solving Schools

Problem-Solving Schools supports learners embed key problem-solving strategies as they progress through their schooling, backed by our Problem-Solving Schools' Charter .

Want to raise the profile of mathematical problem-solving in your school?

Looking for support to help your students become better problem-solvers?

Want to be connected to like-minded teachers?

Become a Problem-Solving School

What is the problem-solving schools initiative.

We aim to help you raise the profile of mathematical problem-solving in your school. Our Charter offers a framework intended to inform policy and practice.

Everything you need to know about joining this initiative.

Resources and professional development

Coming soon… Our support material and webinars will aim to help your school move forward on its problem-solving journey.

Welcoming our latest schools

Coming soon… Find out which schools in your area are raising the status of problem-solving in their mathematics classrooms.

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• Nrich Problem Solving Schools Programme

Sign up to NRICH’s Problem-solving Schools programme

NRICH, a trusted provider of free problem-solving resources and teacher support, is launching the Problem-solving Schools programme.

Register for free to enhance problem-solving provision across your school and sign up to the Problem-solving Schools Charter.

Why is problem-solving so important?

With the rise of AI, problem-solving skills are more important than ever for students.

To thrive both inside and outside of the classroom, they need to develop resilience, be able to work collaboratively, and think creatively and flexibly. And, perhaps most importantly, they will need to be able to solve problems.

Problem solving opens up a world of possibilities. Students have to apply their knowledge, think laterally, and use their creativity to solve challenges.

Not only does problem solving serve a longer-term purpose of empowering students for the future, it is also a crucial part of helping them to discover the joy of mathematics.

Imagine only engaging with football through practice drills and never seeing Messi score, or learning music through scales and never hearing an orchestra play…

Problem solving is the light bulb moment for students when it comes to maths. They start to see the value in what they are doing.

Once they really understand its value, that’s when they become engaged and motivated to learn!

Highlighted by Ofsted

A new Ofsted report, published in July 2023, said that the teaching of mathematical problem solving remains an area “of weakness across many schools”, and emphasised the importance of teaching skills that “equip [pupils] for the next stage of education, work and life”.

As well as asking schools to teach specific problem-solving strategies, they want students to have plenty of opportunities to put these strategies into practice and choose the best one for each situation.

What is NRICH doing to support schools?

NRICH’s core mission is to develop confident, resilient problem-solvers who value and enjoy working mathematically. With that mission in mind, we are launching the Problem-solving Schools programme.

The aim of this new initiative is to help embed problem-solving in classrooms by providing:

• Targeted problem-solving resources
• Dedicated teacher CPD on how best to use them
• Advice on engaging parents so they can support their children at home
• A dedicated schools Charter to sign up for, demonstrating your school’s commitment to put problem solving at the heart of maths learning.

The programme is open to all schools with resources and CPD available for key stages 2–4.

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NRICH launches new Problem-Solving Schools initiative

Our NRICH programme has launched a new initiative to help schools prioritise problem-solving in maths. The NRICH Problem-Solving Schools programme will offer free resources, advice and teacher professional development training. 

Problem-solving is a critical skill when it comes to empowering students for the future. It opens up a world of possibilities as students have to apply their knowledge, think laterally and use their creativity to solve challenges. Problem-solving is also a crucial part of helping students to discover the joy of mathematics. "Imagine only engaging with football through practice drills and never seeing Messi score, or learning music through scales and never hearing an orchestra play," say the NRICH team.

For over 25 years NRICH has been at the forefront of developing mathematical problem-solving resources, reaching millions of users each year through the free NRICH website. The Problem-Solving Schools programme builds on this expertise and experience in supporting schools, teachers and students to help schools embed problem-solving in the curriculum.

Along with fluency and reasoning, problem-solving is central to the National Curriculum for maths, and the launch of NRICH's Problem-Solving Schools programme offers timely additional support for schools. A new report published by Ofsted in July 2023 encourages schools to focus more consistently on teaching problem-solving, and ensure that all students have opportunities to practise applying their knowledge in a range of problem-solving contexts.

To find out more about the programme, and how to register your school, see the NRICH Problem-Solving Schools information.

You can read more about the Problem-Solving Schools initiative in this University of Cambridge news story .

© 2023 University of Cambridge Privacy notice

Or search by topic

Number and algebra

• The Number System and Place Value
• Calculations and Numerical Methods
• Fractions, Decimals, Percentages, Ratio and Proportion
• Properties of Numbers
• Patterns, Sequences and Structure
• Algebraic expressions, equations and formulae
• Coordinates, Functions and Graphs

Geometry and measure

• Angles, Polygons, and Geometrical Proof
• 3D Geometry, Shape and Space
• Measuring and calculating with units
• Transformations and constructions
• Pythagoras and Trigonometry
• Vectors and Matrices

Probability and statistics

• Handling, Processing and Representing Data
• Probability

Working mathematically

• Thinking mathematically
• Mathematical mindsets
• Cross-curricular contexts
• Physical and digital manipulatives

For younger learners

• Early Years Foundation Stage

Advanced mathematics

• Decision Mathematics and Combinatorics
• Advanced Probability and Statistics

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Your Solutions!

‘AI means maths problem-solving skills are more important than ever’

Cambridge bolsters classroom learning with new 'Problem-Solving Schools' initiative

By Stephen Bevan Published: 16th November 2023

Credit: Phil Boorman

Mathematicians at the University of Cambridge are supporting UK schools to help prioritise problem solving in maths – a key skill that is likely to become ever more critical with the rise of automation and artificial intelligence.

The new Problem-Solving Schools initiative, developed by the University’s Faculty of Mathematics, aims to create ‘a movement of problem-solving schools’ by providing free learning resources and teacher training to refocus attention on the skill.  Along with fluency and reasoning, problem solving has been central to the National Curriculum for maths since it was introduced in 2014, but often does not receive the same amount of attention in the classroom.

In the summer, Ofsted published new guidance encouraging schools to focus more consistently on teaching problem solving, and emphasised the importance of teaching skills that “equip [pupils] for the next stage of education, work and life”.

Dr Ems Lord, Director of NRICH , which provides thousands of free online mathematics resources for ages three to 18, and is launching Problem-Solving Schools, said: “It's fair to say that many schools feel increasingly confident supporting fluency and reasoning skills, and there’s a lot of support out there. What’s been missing is the problem-solving aspect, and that’s been repeatedly picked up by Ofsted. It’s not being prioritised, often because of a lack of training for teachers and a lack of access to sufficient, high-quality resources to support it.

Dr Ems Lord at the University's Maths Faculty. Credit: Nathan Pitt

“Some schools are not covering it as well as others, so it means we’re in this very patchy landscape and at the same time we have AI coming in, with everyone thinking about how that will impact future roles and careers. And it’s looking increasingly likely that students who are good problem solvers, and have good teamwork skills, are the ones who are going to thrive.”

Although AI is developing rapidly, Dr Lord says at present problem solving isn’t one of its strong points. And business analysts believe that in the future jobs which computers cannot perform ­– that require uniquely human skills such as critical thinking ­– will become more significant and those with these skills will be in even more demand.

“I can put our problems into an AI system, some it can solve, some it gives ridiculous answers to. But how would someone know which is which unless they know how to solve the problem themselves – or even know what question to ask to get the answer they’re after?

“Problem-solving is not about memorising facts, it’s about being confronted with something for the first time and thinking, ‘Right, how do I use my skills to approach this?’ And these are transferrable skills, for all aspects of life, which will help children in the future, not just at work but also socially. We want our young people to have the curiosity and confidence to question things, so if they come across some data or a graph in the media, or wherever, they have the experience and skills to know what a good graph looks like, and they can analyse it for themselves.

“It’s such an important area that we have to get right, and at the moment we’re not doing it. The whole point of learning maths is to be able to solve problems.”

Dr Lord says the Problem-Solving Schools initiative aims to help embed the skill in classrooms by providing themed resources and webinar training on how to best use them – to support teachers who might be lacking in confidence themselves, or are unsure how to refocus how they teach the Curriculum.

The webinar series will also include tips on engaging parents with maths so they can help support their children in the subject. In a recent study , NRICH’s Solving Together project, which offers family-friendly homework activities, was found to significantly increase parental involvement in the subject.

'Problem-solving is not about memorising facts, it’s about being confronted with something for the first time and thinking, ‘Right, how do I use my skills to approach this?'

- Dr Ems Lord, Director of NRICH

Pupils using NRICH maths resources. Credit: University of Cambridge

In addition, a Charter for schools to sign up to is also being introduced. It puts problem solving at the heart of maths learning, from the commitment of the school’s leadership team, to values in the classroom – where good problem-solving behaviour is encouraged, and where it’s ok to make mistakes – to how activities can be widened out to the local community.

The NRICH team has developed the programme in consultation with schools, and has actively sought the views of colleagues in the Department for Education, and the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics – the Government’s maths body set up to improve mathematics teaching in England.

“Many of the resources given to teachers up to this point have focused on fluency, and if a teacher isn’t mathematically trained they tend to revert to where they feel safe, how they were taught,” says Dr Lord. “We need to break the mould on that, we need to make sure there are good resources available for problem-solving learning, and free training, so it isn’t a case of ‘we should be doing this’, but, ‘why wouldn’t we be doing this?’

“We’ve created a complete, wraparound package. We’re looking for schools across the country to sign up to the Charter, create a movement of problem-solving schools and change the agenda.”

Professor Bhaskar Vira, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Education at the University of Cambridge, said: “Problem-Solving Schools is an exciting initiative that builds on the University’s work to support schools around the country through outreach and learning. NRICH’s high quality resources will help maths teachers embed problem solving in the classroom, as part of Cambridge’s mission to contribute to society through education, learning and research, and equip pupils with this key skill for the future.”

As part of the Problem-Solving Schools launch, NRICH is developing its resources, which have been supporting learners since the outreach programme’s launch 25 years ago , and recently made a huge contribution to the national effort during the COVID-19 lockdowns. Between March and September 2020, nrich.maths.org registered a 95% increase in UK visits compared to the previous year. In the 2020–21 school year alone, the site attracted just under 33 million page views. In spring 2020, the UK Government highlighted NRICH resources to schools and the team contributed to the BBC’s heavily used Bitesize maths resources.

And as the team launches its newest initiative, it continues to support post-pandemic catch-up work, by helping fill gaps in knowledge and focusing on students’ attitude to maths.

“It’s not just about doing the maths, it’s about enjoying it and finding it worthwhile – understanding the applications,” says Dr Lord. “If our materials are just about covering subject knowledge it’s really hard for student to enjoy what they’re doing.

“It’s a bit like having never seen Messi score a goal. If all you’ve done is go to football practice, where the coach puts down markers and tells you to dribble through them for an hour, and you come back the next week and do exactly the same thing, you kind of wonder why you’re doing it.

“But if you go to football practice and then switch on the TV and see a Messi wonder goal – it’s like ‘Aah – that’s what it’s all about!’ And I sometimes think that’s what’s missing when we talk about maths – the sheer moments of awe and wonder that you can have, and that feeling when you solve a problem which is absolutely fantastic!”

Credit: University of Cambridge

The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .