Who is about to be crowned the 2009 UK Schools Memory Champion?
Could this year's winner be one of your students?
Hannah Ward of Roade
School Sports College,
Northampton was crowned
the first UK Schools
Memory Champion in 2008.....
Last year, Secondary Schools in the East and West Midlands regions were invited to take part in the first ever UK School Memory Championships.
This is now a UK wide Schools Memory Championship. With almost 2,000 students taking part in this year’s competition, the top 100 students will be competing in the final which is being staged at the Saints Rugby Ground, Northampton, on the 7th July 2009.
The competition is sponsored by Aimhigher, a national government initiative to encourage students into higher education. The Schools Memory Championships is promoted by the UK Memory Sports Council and coordinated on its behalf by Inspire Education, the Ascot based educational and training consultancy.
Eight times World Memory Champion Dominic O'Brien has been spear-heading the half day training sessions in memory techniques for groups of up to 30 students and staff. The competitions are led by Phil Chambers, Chief Arbiter of the World Memory Sports Council (WMSC).
Competitors apply their newly-acquired memorisation techniques to five different categories:
random words, random numbers, fictional events and dates, binary digits and a the moemorisation of a shuffled deck of cards.
These five memory disciplines have been chosen to closely correspond to the World Memory Championships whilst being easily transferable to school subjects.
"I can't believe I've won it! I never expected this when I went in to it...It's been so much fun!"
Hannah Ward - UK Schools Memory Champion 2008
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"It inspires them because it gives them a new way of learning and it makes it interesting for them. It's so much better than just looking at a book trying to memorise the facts"
Parents of Hannah Ward
"The first ever UK Schools Memory Championship has given these young people an unrivalled opportunity to extend their repertoire of skills. These can be used to help them remember the key pieces of information, knowledge and understanding required for success"
Philip Burch - County Manager, Aimhigher Northampton
From left to right - Dominic O’Brien, eight times world memory champion, Silver Medallist David Luck (14) from Huxlow Science College, Wellingborough, Gold Medal winner Hannah Ward from Roade School Sports College, Roade, Northampton, Bronze winner Ellen Biltcliffe (14) from Magdalen College School, Brackley and Tony Buzan, co-founder of the World Memory Championships.pire
STAGE ONE
In-School training - During the in-school training day, one of our presenters will deliver memory training to a group of approximately 30 students. Our presenters have all been trained and accredited by the World Memory Sports Council. The students can be from any year group and of any ability.
The students will each be given a pre-printed memory training manual. This has been written by the eight times World Memory Champion and published author Dominic O'Brien in conjunction with the World Memory Sports Council. The school will also receive a Brain Club resource pack which will aid the students in setting up and running such a club.
STAGE TWO
In-School competitions across the UK led by Phil Chambers, the WMSC's chief arbiter. The students will be tested on five memory disciplines. The scores will be added to our results database and the top students from around the country will be entered into the national final.
STAGE THREE
• UK Schools Memory Championships Final
• Northampton Rugby Ground
• July 7th 2009 |
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Optional extras
1 Teacher training: At least 1 or 2 members of staff from
each school would be trained in memory techniques and in how
the scoring system works and in how an arbiter would run a competition. This way, the teachers will be able to run mock competitions to aid the training of the students.
2 Additional student workshops: Students who have been successful in setting up a brain club would be visited by a presenter who would be able to give a personal training to the
brain club students. The presenter will be an experienced competitive memoriser and part of the UK Memory Team.
See http://www.inspire-ed.com/ for further information and pricing.
"The students involved in the memory championships at Weston Favell School have loved the whole experience and can’t wait to do the actual competition. Dominic came and did the initial memory skills training at the beginning of April which the students really enjoyed and they have been meeting regularly in their lunch time to practise their memory techniques since then. They have been engrossed and engaged in the whole process in a way that they aren’t in normal school activities. I think they have found it very inspiring and it will definitely help in their GCSE exam preparation."
Louise Mann. teacher at Weston Favell School, Northampton.
The book is now available and can be obtained from the World Memory or the Buzan websites price £15 (USD $30) plus post and packing within the UK of £2. |
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