Masterclass resources

Masterclasses are ideal for picking up interesting ideas for topics or activities to include in your own lessons.

Check out our new ready-to-go 'off-the-shelf' Primary Mathematics Masterclasses to use in your classroom or as topics within your own Masterclass series.

Alternatively, explore our older masterclass-style classroom resources and browse our list of resources available externally.

Chessboard. Image credit: Mark Leary via Flickr

Off-the-shelf Masterclass: Being Systematic

Off-the-shelf Primary Mathematics Masterclass all about working systematically.

Investigate how many squares there are on a chessboard (hint: not 64) and extend this reasoning to cubes, triangular grids, and more.

Magic Square on the Sagrada Familia façade, Barcelona. Credit: Prompt Guides via Flickr

Off-the-shelf Masterclass: Magic Squares

Off-the-shelf Primary Mathematics Masterclass exploring magic squares – squares of numbers where all rows, columns and diagonals add up to the same magic total.

Find out about their history in art, sculpture and legend and learn how to create your own magic squares of different sizes.

Sierpinski Triangle in the playground. Credit: Melissa Youngern via Flickr

Off-the-shelf Masterclass: Sierpiński’s Triangle

Off-the-shelf Primary Mathematics Masterclass all about Sierpiński’s Triangle, a beautiful mathematical shape which appears in surprising places.

Create the shape in different ways and investigate some of its properties. See how Sierpiński’s triangle links to chaos and find out how simple rules can lead to amazing outcomes.

Children playing on playground apparatus shaped like a Mobius band

Off-the-shelf Masterclass: Mobius Band

Off-the-shelf Primary Mathematics Masterclass all about Mobius Bands.

Play with simple strips of paper for this fun mathematical activity that will blow the minds of both the young students and attending adults alike. Wow them with this lovely introduction to the mathematical field of topology.

Image of modern-day bridge in Konigsberg city

Off-the-shelf Masterclass: Bridges of Konigsberg

Off-the-shelf Primary Mathematics Masterclass about the infamous Bridges of Konigsberg conundrum, first solved by the mathematician Euler.

Explore the properties of basic graphs in this interactive workshop - a great introduction to the mathematics of Graph Theory, the art of reducing complex systems to simple forms.

Off-the-shelf Masterclass: Digital Computers

Off-the-shelf Primary Mathematics Masterclass about the art and science of counting on fingers. Since ancient times, humans have used their fingers for counting and calculations.

Learn about ways you too can become a ‘digital computer’ and find out about binary numbers with the demonstrations and activities in this session.

Off-the-shelf Masterclass: Get Lucky!

Off-the-shelf Primary Mathematics Masterclass exploring the mathematical probability of winning the national lottery.

In this Masterclass, students answer the big question ‘Is it worth playing the lottery?’ by exploring combinations, Pascal’s Triangle, probability and randomness.

Off-the-shelf Masterclass: Rabbits and sequences

Off-the-shelf Primary Mathematics Masterclass all about sequences, including a very special sequence of rabbits.

Explore ways of spotting patterns and finding rules for different sequences, discovering the mathematical notation and different approaches to the problem. Have a go at mathematically modelling a rabbit population to find out about the famous Fibonacci numbers and explore a few places where they crop up unexpectedly. If there's time, start to explore one of maths's greatest unsolved problems and try to find a pattern in the prime numbers.