A WEST Dorset school has been puzzling its parents but in a good way.

Woodroffe School in Lyme Regis wanted to help parents understand how mathematics is taught at Woodroffe and how they can support their children.

So the maths department devised a set of challenges for parents of Year 7 students and invited them to an evening in the school last week (Jan 10).

There was an excellent turn-out of parents and pupils for the family maths evening session.

The evening was run on a very practical basis with parents having to be brave and tackle mathematical challenges in the same way that their children are taught in lessons.

One task involved ‘bubble sorting’, which is a technique for sorting a list of items into order, in this case all the attendees by the day and month of birth.

Despite the confusion and nervousness of the parents, the sorting was remarkably quick with only a few mistakes, said Neil Vincent, head of mathematics.

He added: "It was fantastic to see everyone participating in the practical tasks, discussions and of course the addictive ‘Marbles in a box’ and ‘Matchstick’ puzzles.

"The use of computers and textbooks was also covered on the night, along with the overall scheme of work used at the school and the use of homework.

"For anyone who attend the event, the answer to the marbles problem is 49!”

Part of the school's ethos is valuing diversity and providing inclusive education.

Part of the way it does that is in the range of extra curricular activities and clubs it runs.

Amon these are clubs for textiles, clubs, puzzles, drama, choirs, orchestras, bands, faith, sailing, origami, creative writing, product design, French, Spanish, graphics and art.

Headteacher Richard Steward says of the school: "In 2014 we became a national maths hub, working with a network of schools stretching right across the southwest. Two hundred and seventy schools applied to become maths hubs, but only 32 were selected. This is an indication of both the quality of the work done in maths at Woodroffe but also recognition of the strengths of the alliance of schools who are part of the hub."