Carol’s got ‘The Maths Factor’!

Primary Times talks to Carol Vorderman…

‘Countdown’ the years to when Carol Vorderman was a young child and you will find a bright, gifted, vivacious girl who came from very humble beginnings. Carol told Primary Times that she was brought up in a small flat in North Wales by a single mum of 3 children.  Money was often tight and the family struggled to afford life’s luxuries, so Carol quickly learnt that if she wanted anything in life she would need to work hard to get it.

Tightly clutching her schools books, a five year old Carol would wait patiently for the bus that would carry her safely to the confines of the local state Roman Catholic primary school in Rhyl.  This time in her life she recalls with fond happiness, and is especially complimentary about her former head teacher, Mr Jemmett. Indeed, it was under Mr Jemmett’s leadership, that Carol’s aptitude for maths was swiftly identified at a very early age, progressing Carol a year ahead at school.  As this move happened at such a young age, Carol’s school life eased by without interruption until she left for Cambridge University at just 17 years old.

Perhaps unsurprisingly Carol’s favourite subject at primary school was maths where she particularly enjoyed mental arithmetic tests. Her natural desire to complete sums before everyone else in her class was a worthy skill that proved profitable in later life on Channel 4’s Countdown, where the concept of the game is to complete a mental arithmetic challenge against the clock.

Coupling her sharp mathematical mind with an enormous drive to work hard, Carol has been able to carve a fruitful career out of her passions whilst raising two children on her own. Her die-hard approach to work still burns brightly today, fuelled by a desire to provide the best foundations possible for her two children combined with an unending passion to help other childrengrasp the fundamentals of her favourite subject.

Carol’s enthusiasm for maths is enormously infectious and it’s this inspiring passion that oozes so naturally in her online presentations on her web based maths school  ‘The Maths Factor’ that helps to captivate the attention of the young audience that the website programme is designed for.

Primary Times caught up with Carol amid her very busy schedule to ask some questions about ‘The Maths Factor’…

Firstly, please could you explain what The Maths Factor is?

The Maths Factor is an online maths school designed to support children, aged 4-12 years, at a pace which is right for them. We have many different animated schools and clubs which use our massive warehouse of online maths resources, including hundreds of lessons and hours of quality tutoring by me, interactive games, music, avatars, badges and rewards. Children love it.  I’ve included plenty of handy hints, tips and tricks in the videos, and reinforce the importance to practice, practice, practice! The site emphasises maths as a language, engaging children to identify patterns. Maths is very visual.  One of the easiest ways to understand maths is to try to see a pattern. After just a few weeks of practice, some children start to attain top grades after using the website.

What inspired you to create The Maths Factor?

I really wanted to create something special for all children when the proper internet technology became available.  I wanted to create an easy to use system that would offer a way for children to learn and practice maths. 

How much does it cost to use The Maths Factor?

We have lots of different schools and clubs available, ranging from just £5.99 to £19.99 including VAT, plus subscription options. They include our most popular Arithmetic School, where children absolutely learn the best techniques, gain great confidence and a true understanding of numbers. They learn to love numbers. Our Times Tables School is a brilliant way to help a child learn their Times Tables up to 12x12. Mighty Algebra is aimed at children aged approximately 8-11. It introduces beautiful Algebra in the best way possible, going up to solving simple simultaneous equations. Our Perfect Practice range is a series of interactive online workbooks with 1000 colourful sums, interactive games, rewards and click-through examples of "How 2 do it".

What, in your opinion, is the main advantage of using The Maths Factor compared to other online maths educational packages?

There are many advantages. The Maths Factor offers a cost effective form of tutoring. We’ve created a colourful, lively and easy-to-use format, broken down into sessions that take roughly 15 minutes to complete.  As an online system it offers tremendous flexibility allowing children to access and complete each stage at a time when it is suitable for them.  Some children even do their Maths Factor before they go to school.

The Maths Factor marks the child’s results instantly and provides massive amounts of feedback to parents, so close monitoring is possible. Parents are informed of their child’s progress by attaining result sheets and there is a customer service centre available with friendly, efficient staff, including teachers, who will be able to assist, should there be any problems.  Plus, for those parents who want to learn the maths themselves and be able to help their children, I’ve made hundreds of videos specifically aimed at parents explaining everything and more. There’s also a 10-day money back guarantee. If you want to look at the quality of what we do, try our freebies at www.themathsfactor.com, including a revision checker where we email you with your child’s results.

Looking ahead, Carol intends to extend The Maths Factor site to incorporate packages for older children who are at GCSE level, as well as online packages specifically aimed at helping adults grasp the fundamentals of maths.

To sum up... Carol has created an impressive, child-friendly online maths school that is sure to help any child understand the language of maths better.

The Maths Factor: www.themathsfactor.com/primarytimes