Maths For Granted

05/08/2026

SUMMER HOLIDAY MATHS PUZZLE FOR 5 YEARS - 105 YEARS!

How Big Is The Circus Tent?

I’m Liz Grant , a local maths tutor and teacher in Rochford and I thought you would all love to solve a maths puzzle!

You have a week to consider your answer…….

Whilst walking past the local circus tent, I thought how many cubic metres does this tent hold?

My dimensions of the tent:

Cylindrical Base: 2Om diameter and height 3m

Frustrum: Sat on top of the cylinder is a frustrum with base diameter 20m, top diameter 4m. Perpendicular height of frustrum is 12m.

HINT: Frustrum = big cone minus small cone (consider scale factors and similar shapes)

Octagonal Prism: Sat on top of the Frustrum is an octagonal prism.

Assume the base is a regular octagon and distance from each vertex to centre of octagon is 2m. Perpendicular height of octagonal prism is 1m.

Octagonal based pyramid: Sat on the very top of the tent is an octagonal based pyramid. The octagonal base has the same dimensions as the base of the octagonal prism and the perpendicular height of the pyramid is 2m.

No cheating - No AI allowed!!

Answers can be presented to me in person next Wednesday 12th August at Market West Cafe in Rochford between 10am - 1pm

5-14 year olds can estimate.

5-7 year olds: answer to be within 50 cubic metres of true value

8-10 year olds: answer to be within 20 cubic metres of true value

11-14 year olds: answer to be within 10 cubic metres of true value - ideally with some explanation of how to find the area of a circle.

15 - 16 year olds: Foundation GCSE maths - answer to be within 10 cubic metres and a precise method explained how to find the volume of the cylinder.

15 - 105 year olds: Higher GCSE maths- answer correct to the nearest whole number or ideally left in terms of multiples of pi and multiples of root 2. You have to be able to explain your answer.

No AI cheats!

HINT: you will need to know how to find volumes of prisms, frustrums and pyramids and how to find the areas of circles and regular octagons. Trigonometry needed for octagonal area.

Small confectionery prize for correct answers. 🤗

23/02/2026

Hello everyone.
I will be running my annual Easter GCSE mock examinations again this year at the Women’s Institute in Rochford. It is available to my current tutees and other students local to the area. Message me privately if you are further afield, but would like the opportunity of attempting the examinations.
There will be three examinations (one non calculator and the other two calculator papers) on Thursday 2nd April, Tuesday 7th April and Thursday 9th April.

The overall cost is £75 which includes:

Hire of hall

Writing, preparing and printing 3 exam papers

Hosting and invigilation of three examinations

Marking exam papers

Grade awarded - based on recent grade boundaries used.

Places are limited, due to size of hall, so booking early is recommended.

Please complete the attached Google form and I will then be in touch with more guidance .

Thanks,

Liz

21/08/2025

Good luck everyone today with your GCSE results.

21/08/2024

Good luck to everyone receiving GCSE results tomorrow.
Fingers crossed.

🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

14/08/2024

Good luck to all those receiving AS and A level results tomorrow.

15/05/2024

Good luck to all GCSE students for the first maths paper.

15/04/2024

Well done to all those students who bravely sat my 3 GCSE Easter exam papers over the last couple of weeks.
With nearly 30 students from WHSB, SHSG, SHSB, Thorpe Hall School, Brentwood School, Fitzwimarc, St Thomas More, Greensward Academy and Belfairs School, the three exams were very well attended and all ran smoothly at the hall.
Exam papers will be returned this week once all video solutions have been uploaded.
For more information regarding exams, maths tuition, free video tutorials or downloading my previous exam papers, please visit www.MathsForGranted.co.uk

08/01/2024

Happy New Year everyone.
Are you thinking of maths tuition for your child in the coming year?
I am a maths tutor based in Rochford, Essex and have some availability starting September 2024 (or possibly June 2024), once I lose all my lovely year 11 and year 13 students this coming summer.
Ideally for students in years 9-13, I offer GCSE, Further Maths GCSE and A level maths tuition.
Please complete the enquiry form on my website, if interested, and I will then secure your place (usually around Easter), once I know which slots have become available.
I teach face to face from my maths studio in Rochford, or can also tutor online if you are further afield.

Maths For Granted KS3, GCSE & A-Level Maths Tuition in Rochford, Essex Find out more Contact Me Private Maths Tuition I have extensive experience teaching mathematics at key stages 3,4 and 5. I specialise in GCSE and A-Level mathematics. I also teach further maths GCSE and further maths A-Level. I a...

20/12/2023

Happy Christmas to all the Maths For Granted family.
Lessons resume on Monday 8th January - with some tutees starting prior to this, if they have January mocks.
Try not to miss the BBC4 Royal Institute Christmas Lectures this year (8pm Boxing Day onwards).
The theme this year is AI!!
Aimed at 11-17 year olds.
🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

Upcoming episodes of Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

23/08/2023

Good luck tomorrow to all those receiving GCSE results.

🤞🏻