Can you work out which order these thirteen nations finished in after competing? This activity presents an exercise in strategic thinking, accessible to lower secondary students (but hinting at the more advanced mathematics of sorting...

Whether you're responding to a starting pistol or hitting a ball served by your opponent, reaction times are enormously important in sport. This activity includes both an interactive computer test of reaction times and suggestions for a...

Squash isn't an Olympic sport (yet!) but it has an interesting scoring system. If you reach 8-all in a game of squash, when should you decide to play to 9 points rather than 10? This activity is a starting point for mathematical...

This activity investigates the importance of accurate measurement in competitive sport, looking at examples from athletics and swimming. It is aimed at secondary maths students (grades 8, 9, and 10).

This activity follows on from Charting Success and encourages students to consider and analyse representations of data from the world of sport, to make sense of the stories they tell, and to analyse whether the right representation has...

These project ideas explore moment of inertia and its consequences in a number of different sports including diving, gymnastics and cycling, and encourage investigation, experiment and discussion. This activity is aimed at higher level...

After training hard, Ben and Mia have improved their performance in the long jump and high jump. Can you work out the length and height of their original jumps? This activity explores multiplication, division and fractions in the context...

These 10 questions encourage students to explore mathematical modelling in the context of several different sports including track and field athletics, shooting, football, tennis, basketball and gymnastics. This activity is designed to...

This activity suggests a number of investigative projects, focusing on athletics and swimming, exploring some of the trends between performances in different sports at the same time in history and in the rate of improvement of records...

How would you write a LOGO program to approximately reproduce the Olympic Rings logo? This activity is designed to be accessible to students at all levels of secondary maths (Key Stages 3, 4 and 5).

What are the probabilities of winning at tennis? This challenging activity is designed to be accessible to students of A-Level Maths (grades 10, 11, and 12).

This activity investigates the mechanics of the pole vaulting event, and is designed to be accessible to A-level maths students (grades 10, 11, and 12).

The heptathlon consists of 7 athletics events. Looking at a heptathlete's current performance in these events, how should she plan her training schedule? This activity examines the maths behind the heptathlon's scoring system, and is...

Can you throw a beanbag as far as the Olympic hammer or discus throwers? This activity introduces children to informal measures to compare distances, and is designed to be accessible to primary pupils at Key Stage 1.

Looking at the 2008 Olympic Medal table, can you see how the data is organised? Could the results be presented differently to give another nation the top place? This activity encourages children to develop their skills in data analysis,...

Who won in these different events? This is a more challenging activity for primary pupils at Key Stage 1, which helps children understand why sometimes the winner has the biggest number and sometimes the smallest.

Can you find the best route for the Olympic Torch relay to take? This more challenging activity is designed to be accessible to GCSE maths students (grades 8, 9, and 10).

How would you design the seating for an Olympic stadium to give spectators the best view of events? This geometry and modelling activity is designed to be accessible to both GCSE and A-level maths students (Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5),...

At what angle should you release the shot to break Olympic records? This activity gives students the opportunity to investigate projectile motion in a real-life context, and is aimed at A-level students (grades 10, 11, and 12).

Could the location of the Olympic host city have an effect on weightlifting events? This activity provides an interesting context in which to engage with weight, mass and gravitation, and is aimed at A-level students (grades 10, 11, and...

Could the altitude of the city hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games have an effect on performance in the long jump? This challenging activity encourages mathematical reflection, investigation and discussion as students explore how...

What would be the ideal weather conditions for breaking the world record in the shot put? This activity encourages A-level mechanics students (grades 10, 11, and 12) to explore and discuss modelling assumptions.

In the 2008 Beijing Olympics the UK finished 4th in the total medal count. How might we do in 2012, and does the country hosting the Olympics have an edge?

Can you use data from the 2008 Beijing Olympics medal tables to decide which country has the most naturally athletic population? This data-handling activity encourages mathematical investigation and discussion and is designed to be...