Since 2014, maths enthusiasts from the Oldenburg region and the north-west of Lower Saxony have had the opportunity to pursue their passion at a three-day maths camp in January.

Around 80 pupils from years 7 to 13 meet for three days in an educational centre. In age-appropriate groups, they deal with maths that goes beyond the normal school curriculum. During the 90-minute course units, they are introduced to a specific topic and then have time to explore it further by working independently with tasks and materials.

Who leads these groups? On the one hand, selected advanced students and doctoral candidates from the University of Oldenburg (from the teacher training or mathematics degree programmes) who, in addition to systematic knowledge, also bring a problem-solving approach to mathematics - inspired by their own experiences in maths clubs, competitions or through the university module Mathematical Problem Solving and Proving. Secondly, committed teachers who are looking for challenges outside of the regular classroom.

The topics of the course units include geometry, logic, proofs, equations and inequalities, number theory, combinatorics and even "university maths" for the higher grades (11-13). To harmonise the content, we have developed a curriculum that has been continuously improved over the years.

The programme is supplemented by joint leisure activities and a lecture by a mathematics professor who presents a topic that is exciting for all classes. Such topics do exist - for example the four-colour theorem or lattice points!