Weren't maths lessons dull! I remember facing pages of sums each day, multiplying together long lists of fractions. This list of answers from May 5th 1984 in Mr Robinson's class at Milby Middle School in Nuneaton sums up my memory of school maths. So how did I come to love maths enough to spend four years at the University of Birmingham and four years at the University of Warwick gaining my PhD in Mathematics? Of course, I wouldn't have succeeded if I hadn't done the sums but I also answered the following questions: How many pupils attended Milby Middle in 1984? What was the area of my foot when I was 10? Was I the only child in L3 with dark hair and dark eyes? Are cowboys symmetrical? The questions are from the lessons of Mr Robinson and Mrs Edwards. I wasn't much good at drawing and I'm afraid my writing is no more legible today.

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