School children across the UK will join celebrities in an attempt to set an official Guinness World Records title by taking part in a mass ‘number roll’ to celebrate National Numeracy Day on 18 May.
National Numeracy and Times Tables Rock Stars have teamed up for the Rocking and Rolling Numbers live event to get children across the UK feeling positive and confident about maths.
At 9.30am on 18 May, Times Tables Rock Stars and National Numeracy Ambassadors, Strictly Come Dancing star Katya Jones and TV presenter Bobby Seagull will be leading a 5 times table number roll from King Solomon Academy in London. It will be live streamed on YouTube, so that children across the UK in class, or at home, can join in.
A Guinness World Records adjudicator will oversee the attempt for ‘most viewers of a rolling numbers live stream’. Number rolling is a catchy call-and-response chant with accompanying actions that help kids feel good about numbers.
“I’m not a mathematician, but I believe numbers are an exciting, playful game! It is important to foster a positive mindset with our children, so I am delighted to take part in National Numeracy Day and can’t wait to help get everyone involved!” said Katya Jones.
In the UK, 49% of the UK’s working-age population has the expected numeracy levels of a primary school child, significantly below the average for developed countries. National Numeracy Day hopes to help change that. It’s website offers free and fun activities, events and resources for adults and children and a quick way to check and improve numeracy via the National Numeracy Challenge.
“Rocking and rolling numbers is a fantastic way to get everyone in the room enthusiastic about the tables at the same time and this mass participation event – live-streamed on our YouTube channel – will give the nation a collective boost in number confidence,” said Bruno Reddy, Founder and CEO of Maths Circle, the creators of Times Tables Rock Stars. “After all, Maths Circle and National Numeracy share the ambition that one day every child will become an adult who can say “I am good at maths”.
“We want the nation to feel number confident with the maths in everyday life. So what better way to help put children on the path to feeling good about numbers, than a song and dance?” said Sam Sims, CEO of National Numeracy, the organiser of National Numeracy Day.
