Since 2008 a group of Sydney maths teachers and surveyors have collaborated to organise free "Maths in Surveying" excursions for high school students at Bicentennial Park, Homebush Bay. Each excursion is staffed by about 40 volunteers – surveyors, teachers and student teachers – and overheads are met by the Institution of Surveyors, NSW. The only costs to schools are transport to the venue, and copying a set of worksheets for each student.
Participating schools are invited to bring a group of about ten of their top year 10 students to work on activities that explore practical applications of mathematics, provide realistic connections of theory to real-life situations. The mathematics involved includes compass bearings, mensuration formulae, estimation and accuracy, trigonometry in right-angled triangles, Pythagoras' theorem, similar triangles, elementary circle geometry and some very simple CAD. Our aim is to help reverse the serious decline in numbers choosing higher level mathematics in the HSC by raising awareness of the interesting and satisfying careers (especially surveying) open to students studying mathematics
