Maths + imagination = student’s writing contest success

TAKING the boredom of maths out of the equation is a tricky problem — but one teenager has done it.

Lauren Mulvihill, 13, from Dungarvan in Waterford, figured out just how to do it in a fraction of the time mathematics professors might take — and has won a trip to London and a meeting with a top literary agent for her trouble.

Lauren was the overall winner of the brainfood.ie Fantasy Writing contest.

Her story, Ways of Making Maths More Interesting, was described by the judges as a “highly original storyline and clever with a sense of fun”.

Lauren won an iPad and an all-expenses paid trip for two to London to be mentored in writing skills by the competition lead judge, Dr Frank Ryan and to meet with literary agent, Leslie Gardner of Artellus.

Lauren also doesn’t seem to have been a fan of maths if the opening of her essay is anything to go by: “I loathed double maths. The subject was so hopelessly boring. I could add, subtract and multiply two numbers and that was all I needed, thank you very much. Why on earth did I have to learn all this ‘Algebra’? I mean, sums with letters in them? That’s not maths, that’s spelling. And long division? Short division was bad enough; I didn’t see the need to make it longer.”

In the story Lauren was dragged into the world of the Numbers in an exciting battle between The Pluses and The Minuses.

Students nationwide were asked to “feed their imaginations” and compose a short story based in the fantasy/science fiction genre. About 5,000 entries were received.

There were three category winners in total and the other two were: Kathy Cronin (12) from Moyderwell NS in Tralee, who won the Senior Primary Category (5th/6th class) and Aaron Elbel (17), St Brendan’s College in Killarney who won the ‘Senior Secondary Category’ (Transition Year/4th-6th Year).