At the end of last term, the Year 12 Further Maths class sat their first SAC, an application task for the Data Analysis topic. The theme for this year’s task was to analyse recent horse racing results, using the statistical techniques learnt in class, to see if there was a correlation between a horse’s starting price (odds of winning) and its finishing position. Each student analysed a different set of race results. In most cases there was not really a strong association between the odds and placings. This goes to show that betting on horse racing is not a good idea unless you are prepared to lose money!

This term we are studying Financial Arithmetic. Students learn how things like investments, loans, mortgages, annuities etc. work and will sit their SAC in a few weeks. Hopefully they will be well informed when it comes time for them to make an investment or one day buy a house. Certainly a better option than horse racing!