A group of young pupils who are part of the Premier League’s Primary Stars project with Wolves Foundation enjoyed a taste of life ‘on the oche’ as part of a special visit tied in with the PDC Mr Vegas Grand Slam of Darts taking place in the city.
The Sports Council group from Woden Primary School set their sights on a session which combined the fun element of darts with practising their maths, as well as meeting top players Mike De Decker and Jermaine Wattimena, and Wolverhampton boxer Conah Walker.
De Decker and Wattimena competed in the event at WV Active Aldersley, but took time out to join the PDC and staff from the Bullseye Maths initiative, which promotes maths skills among young people via number-based games and worksheets.
Alongside an online Bullseye Maths portal on the PDC website, popular in-school sessions have been developed and run by staff from Room 180 Academy to encourage maths learning through a combination of numeracy exercises and darts-based games.
The PDC’s Head of Media Dave Allen explains more.
“Bullseye Maths was introduced about two-and-a-half years ago as a numeracy scheme where we could help primary school age children to engage with maths and encourage numeracy by using the simple maths around darts,” he said.
“When we have major tournaments, we work with professional players to make guest appearances and, when we come to Wolverhampton, it’s always good to get the Foundation and local primary schools involved like Woden.
“All the players have been really supportive in helping us grow the game and encourage the next generation of players but, most importantly, help engage the children in the subject of maths which they might find difficult at school.
“When taken out of their classrooms, coming to a venue like this and meeting professional players but also doing the maths alongside it, there is an environment where the fun element can spark off that enthusiasm for maths.”
Woden Primary School are one of the Foundation’s partner schools engaged in the Premier League Primary Stars programme, which uses the appeal of football to inspire children to be active and develop essential skills.
As well as joining in the fun games of darts, the pupils from Years Three to Six were also given maths puzzles to solve, including arithmetic involved in legs of darts.
“It has been an absolutely fantastic experience for the kids,” said Mr Ellis, PE Lead at Woden Primary.
“In the first instance, it gives them an exposure to sport and things they might not have known existed, and most of them will only have known about darts by searching about it at home after getting the letter.
“But the important thing is that link to maths, and we have been able to see them do their written maths and apply their learning to the tasks which they had to complete.
“It gives them the context which they can apply their learning to, and they have all really enjoyed it.”
The players also thoroughly enjoyed meeting the pupils and taking part in a few darts and maths-based challenges, supported by staff and Foundation staff Richard Lewis and Kurran Kullar.
De Decker, who last month won his first PDC tournament, the World Grand Prix, said: "It's nice to see kids being interested in darts and, hopefully, some talents come out of this as it's a fun thing to do.
"I hope we can inspire them as that's why we're here today and I hope that they love the game and will continue playing."
Wattimena, who was recently the runner-up in the European Championships, added: "I think this initiative is great and I hope the kids have really enjoyed being here today.
"I hope they can learn a lot about maths and also learn how the sport works and I'd have loved to have this as a kid as there wasn't anything like it when I was young."
The two made progress through the tournament coming out of the group stages before losing out to eventual champion Luke Littler, De Decker in the last 16 and Wattimena in the quarter finals.
But when it comes to the pupils of Woden Primary School, and the PDC’s Bullseye Maths initiative, they were both winners.
