Algebra, Cambridge, and What's Possible
That first encounter with algebra matters more than it might seem. For many young people, mathematics beyond arithmetic exists in the abstract — something that happens to other people in other schools. Prima made it immediate, accessible, and genuinely enjoyable. Children who arrived having never seen an algebraic equation were coming up to the board and solving them within the hour.
Watching that shift happen — from unfamiliarity to engagement to confidence — was the session in a sentence. Prima's teaching style removed the intimidation that mathematics can carry and replaced it with curiosity. The room responded accordingly.
There is something particularly significant about who Prima is, beyond what she taught. A young woman from a marginalised background who found her way to Cambridge — her presence in that room communicated something that no worksheet or lesson plan can. For the young girls in the session especially, seeing someone who shares something of their story standing at the front of a room as a mathematician is not a small thing. It expands what feels possible.
Prima made the journey from London on her own time, for nothing other than the belief that these young people deserve access to this kind of inspiration. That commitment means a great deal to BYO, and to everyone who was in the room that afternoon.
