So that students can see how important maths is to our businesses and to our building industry we have put together a practical problem-solving exercise called The Oil Rig Platform.  It is designed to simulate the workings of a team of engineers, trying to find a solution to a problem by building an oil rig platform.

The students are divided into small teams and challenged to build a model of an oil rig platform and work out how much it costs to build using only set materials.  To test for safety the platform must be able to support the weight of a brick!  Will your students design it so cheaply that it collapses or will they spend more money to make it strong and sturdy?

The exercise is suitable for both KS3 and KS4 students and runs over one lesson.  Each team is given the student brief, a set of resources and a deadline.  The winning team is the one who can build the oil rig, support the weight of a brick and is the cheapest to build.  A great learning experience and good fun for everyone.

This resource contains: clear teachers’ guidance notes that explain how to run the exercise, the students exercise brief, resources checklist and the assessment criteria.