Children from a Wrexham school got the taste for mathematics – by tucking into pizza.
Pupils of St Christopher’s School spent a fraction of their day in a special classroom – the Frankie & Benny’s restaurant at the Eagles Meadow shopping centre.
They enjoyed mouth-watering pizzas, made up and cooked with ingredients of their choice, while they learnt all about fractions, adding up, multiplication and division.
Maths teacher Beth Lewis says the morning spent at Frankie & Benny’s was time well spent and she’d never known her charges be so attentive.
She said: “It has been absolutely brilliant and helped me get across to pupils the concepts of percentages and fractions.
“All the staff at Frankie & Benny’s have been absolutely brilliant, so helpful, caring and understanding.
“We have covered so many topics in a fun way and the children have really responded and thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
“We used pizzas to learn what is the radius of things, how to measure the diameter of something and, as the pizzas cooked, how to time things.”
Beth added that she is delighted with the community support programme of Frankie & Benny’s Eagles Meadow-based eatery.
She said: “I think the whole concept of educational visits is fantastic. It allows teachers to show pupils how math’s plays an important role in everyday situations.
“And Frankie & Benny’s staff have also included lessons of their own including food and personal hygiene and the importance of eating a balanced diet. It really has been a wonderful morning and a great way to teach in a fun way.
“I honestly have never seen our pupils so attentive and well behaved. That’s the power of pizza I suspect!”
Peter Cross, the manager of Frankie & Benny’s at Eagles Meadow, says all of the national restaurant chain’s 200 plus outlets try to forge links with local schools as part of the company’s educational programme.
He said: “We have really enjoyed having St Christopher’s School pupils visit us here at Eagles Meadow. They have been absolutely brilliant and very well behaved.
“It gives us the chance to pass on a few messages of our own such as food hygiene, the importance of hand washing, safety in the kitchen and how important it is to wear protective clothing in the kitchen as well as showing how mathematics is used in dividing pizzas into portions.”
“As a company we try hard to foster links with our local community. For instance, here at Eagles Meadow, and jointly with our other Wrexham outlet, we sponsor two youth football teams in Borras Park Rangers and Coedpoeth Under 13’s.
“We see those links with the community here in Wrexham as of vital importance to us as a responsible business.
“And educational trips to our outlet here at Eagles Meadow are a great way of giving children the chance to have a great deal of fun designing and eating their own pizzas while learning at the same time.”
