At Notre Dame du Rosaire Primary School, children in Year 3 and below played maths-related games developed for them by the pupils of Years 4 to 6, while the pre-school and reception students at Elizabeth College’s Junior School were joined by the college’s drama students for a number-themed party.
‘Early number skills are so important to develop at this age,’ said Emily Jones, reception teacher at ECJS.
‘It’s having that foundation that allows them to go on and really develop their maths skills.’
In order to further these number skills, both among Reception students and pre-school students, ECJS has been taking part in the ‘Ten Town’ programme – a maths resource that presents each number from one to 10 as a character, and focuses on helping young children become familiar with number formation and value.
It was a scheme begun by a UK reception teacher, Rebecca Sandy, who made up a story about the number five, personifying it and dubbing it ‘Fiona Five’.
‘Children learn a new concept faster if it appeals to their imagination and creates a picture in their minds,’ she said on the Ten Town website.
‘When the parents began asking me who Fiona Five was, I knew I was onto something.’
In order to assist with the programme, drama students from Elizabeth College have been visiting the school on a regular basis, each enacting one of the Ten Town number characters and assisting with the children’s maths classes.
‘It’s been fun seeing how well they’re learning, though it’s definitely a challenge sometimes,’ said Louis Clark, 16, a GSCE drama student of Elizabeth College who was playing the intrepid explorer ‘Freddie Four’ at the Number Day event.
On Number Day itself, the ECJS hall was awash with colour, glitter and numbers as it was transformed into the kingdom of Ten Town. Students were given the chance to make crowns like King One or build with bricks like builder Nina Nine or try any of the other Ten Town activities available to them.
‘It’s good because it’s fun,’ said four-year-old Leo Le Lievre, whose highlight of the morning was making his crown.
His enthusiasm was echoed by fellow schoolmate Poppy Coleridge, also four, who said the event as ‘really good’.
‘I’ve been learning lots of maths,’ she said.
The school began using the Ten Town resource in the previous academic year, and have found its interactive and character-led approach to learning to be a fruitful one.
‘It’s all about bringing learning to life and making maths memorable,’ said Mrs Jones.
‘So far, we’ve seen really, really positive results.’
Notre Dame Primary held its own Number Day celebrations as well, wherein their Year 4, 5 and 6 children made maths games for their younger peers. 2026 marked the third year that the school has run the event.
‘The older children love putting the games together,’ said maths lead and head of the infant school Bonny Murray.
‘They’ve done very well at matching their activities to the younger ones’ abilities.’
The school was abuzz with all different types of games, from dice-based addition to match-the-shape geometry.
‘Yesterday, they all got into groups and worked on these ideas themselves,’ said Year 5 and 6 teacher Tia Goddard.
‘It been great to see them come up with their own ideas and enjoy it so much.’
One such creative endeavour was a bean-bag-launching multiplication game invented by Year 6 pupils Matilda Fernandes and Carolina de Jesus.
‘I’m enjoying it, and my favourite bit was when we were all making the game yesterday,’ 10-year-old Carolina said. Matilda shared her relish for the activity.
Meanwhile, Year 4 pupil Mary Cunningham was busy running a game that required younger pupils to match circles, squares and triangles.
‘It took a lot of time and a lot of work,’ she said, though she too agreed that the process was not too onerous to be enjoyable.
The delight of Number Day was not limited just to the students fashioning and running the games either, as their youngsters appeared also to be having good fun engaging in the activities developed for them by their elder peers.
Six-year-old Maya Songul-Koz was one of many children who had the chance to taste the joys of Notre Dame’s Number Day revelries, decked out in a crown carved into a number six above her forehead.
The school intends on continuing its Number Day celebrations in the future.
‘Maths is so important, and making it fun and interactive really allows the children to apply their skills, instead of just using pen and paper,’ said Mrs Murray.
Number Day is marked in schools and nurseries across the UK every year, with thousands of institutions joining in to promote maths learning and raise money for charity.
It is one of two regular in-school fundraising events created by the NSPCC, with the other being a ‘Kindness Challenge’.
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