Fifty Advanced Higher maths students from schools across the Highlands have completed a senior mathematics residential weekend at Lagganlia Outdoor Centre, aimed at promoting independent learning and the development of key mathematical skills. The course targets pupils intending to study the physical sciences or maths at university. Over the weekend, the students attended a seminar with the BBC’s weather presenter Heather Reid on the uses of mathematics in weather forecasting; a talk on pure maths from Strathclyde University’s Adam McBride; and talks on harmonic motion and bridge-building from Derek Simpson and Calum Stewart, depute headteachers from East Lothian. Calum Brown, an industrial engineer and physicist, described his work as a systems engineer for British Aerospace.