Stella Maris College
Senior School
Maths Trail - Grade 11
Maths Trail for Grade 11s
On the last Monday and Tuesday of October 2021, students in the upper grades at Stella Maris College braved the morning weather and set for majestic Mdina, Malta’s very own gem from the past. Mdina is an old city situated in the centre of the island of Malta atop a hill adjacent to the town of Rabat. It is a fortified city also known as Citta Notabile, owing to the fact that in past times, it was the nobility who occupied the several palaces and enormous houses that line the street of this beautiful city.
Our boys, equipped with measuring tapes and calculators were split into groups of six students, who, together with a member of staff, set off to complete a Maths trail, which involves a series of nine tasks around the city of Mdina. The tasks ask the students to work out mathematical sums based on architectural aspects of the city, such as measuring the volume of a well in the quiet Mesquita square or the area of the façade of the imposing cathedral dedicated to St Peter and St Paul.
The boys’ efforts were rewarded with a stop at the famous Serkin, a culinary outlet in Rabat which sells the traditional ‘pastizzi’. The boys spent some time in the city’s ditch adorned with green grass and surrounded by the bastions of Mdina. This place is known as ‘Il-Foss’. The outing came to an end in the early hours of the afternoon when all the boys returned back to school, to tell the tale of their fantastic Maths trail!
Wendy Sultana (Assistant Head, Grades 10 & 11).