Discover how much different people are really worth. Add the values for the letters in each person’s first name (A = 1, B = 2, C = 3) and divide by the number of letters in the name (to compensate for people with long names). And that’s your mathematical worth.
Who is worth the most? Are they worth more or less with Mr or Miss in front? Does including your middle name raise your average value or lower it? Is the average of your whole name equal to the average of your first name and your surname?
You may need to go beyond 26 to accommodate people with non-Arabic letters and this can lead to cross-curricular discussions.
When pupils have done their own and each other’s names, they can try teachers or celebrities.
Colin Foster teaches mathematics at King Henry VIII School in Coventry.
