Darts is key to mastery at maths at Mayo school
IT'S sometimes said that skill at darts is evidence of a misspent youth. Arrow happy boys and girls at a Co. Mayo primary school are proving exactly the opposite.
Their mental calculation skills are razor sharp as a result of regular darts practice organised by one of their teachers, John Moran.
John, who tutors fifth class at St. John's N.S., Breaffy, Castlebar, organises matches for the older pupils at the 400-pupil school on a regular basis.
As a result there has been an appreciable change in pupils' attitude to maths and their ability to do it.
“I absolutely love coming to school, especially the darts part." enthused one pupil last Friday as he fished a set of arrows from his schoolbag.
School principal George Moran feels that the darts programme has brought a new dimension to maths teaching in the school and points to the fact that participants clearly enjoy what they're doing.
“It's sparked a huge interest in mental maths,” he explained. “It's been a very positive initiative for the whole school."
John Moran, one of the top senior darts players in Mayo, explains that darts involve the very rudimentaries of mathematics - addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, percentages and averages.
He made clear: “Every good dart player has to be able to calculate their scores instantly as they endeavour to reach a double (checkout score). Dart maths are essential if you are to succeed in the game.”
From the age of 10 upwards, John Moran was a prodigy at darts, both marking the board and playing the game at his parents' pub, The Weavers (now Bosh), Linenhall Street, Castlebar.
For safety reasons, real dartboards – utilising steel darts- are not allowed in the St. John's classrooms. Instead the boys and girls play at break time on magnetic boards.
But two professional boards have been erected on either side of a basketball ring in the school hall. Regular (supervised) games as well as tournaments are held there.
Last Friday, Evan O'Connor was totting up scores faster than a calculator as he marked a challenge game between two of his classmates, Conor Loftus and Maeve Tunney.
“Yes,” Evan agreed, “marking the darts board has helped my arithmetic a lot.”
In competitive school matches, with perhaps 150 pupils looking on, nerves of tungsten are required from those participating.
“Darts is now the most popular passtime in the school,” explains John Moran.
“Girls as well as boys are queueing up to play. A lot of the pupils have their own darts. Sales of dartboards around Castlebar have risen, I'd say, over the last two Christmases.”
Eleven-year-old Jude Lavin, who recently won the fifth class tournament, shading Jack Canney, another 11-year-old, is a senior star in the making.
He plays at home with his dad, Tom, as well as at school.
Despite his tender years he already has four 180s (maximum scores) to his credit.
Three former pupils of the Breaffy school – Mark Ward, Niall Heneghan and Shane Heneghan – have progressed onto the Mayo youths team.
So, as a result of the unusual initiative in St. John's N.S., the future of the very game of darts in Mayo – as well as better maths skills – is being boosted.
* Pictured is Primary school teacher John Moran with his 5th class pupils Conor Loftus and Evan O'Connor playing darts while learning maths at St. John's National School, Breaffy. Photo : Keith Heneghan