National success as Crawley College students claim podium finish in MEI Maths Challenge  

Crawley College students have proven they can compete with the very best, as they finished third at the National Finals for the MEI Maths Challenge.

IT, ESOL and Public Services students represented the South at the national finals, competing against nine other colleges, with the Go Forths team finishing an impressive third and the Ein2steins placing sixth overall. 

The national success follows an equally strong performance at the regional finals in March, where Crawley College students finished first in both the Ein2steins and Go Forths categories, and third in the Funkies category.  

The competition is divided into categories based on students’ maths attainment. The ‘Funkies’ category is for students with GCSE grade 1 or Functional Skills Entry Level, ‘Ein2steins’ is for those with GCSE grade 2 or Functional Skills Level 1, and ‘Go Forths’ is for students with GCSE grade 3 or Functional Skills Level 2. 

The winners for each category at each regional competition were then selected to represent their area in the national finals. 

This year’s competition saw 124 colleges take part, including almost 60,000 students across 8,500 classrooms.  

The competition is run annually and is designed to improve the skills of students taking GCSE Maths or Functional Skills at college as they seek to improve their grades.  

Christine Bianchin, Principal of Crawley College, praised the students who took part, saying:  
“I am extremely proud of all the students who represented the college in this year’s MEI Maths Challenge. Achieving a top‑three finish at a national final is a significant accomplishment and reflects the hard work, commitment and determination shown by our students throughout the competition.  

“Their success also highlights the excellent support provided by our teaching teams and the importance of building confidence and skills in maths at every level.”  

To find out more about the wide range of courses on offer at Crawley College, please click here.