The latest Government TV advert to recruit teachers was ridiculed today after a 15-year-old boy spotted that it features an incorrect maths sum.
Eagle-eyed boffin Chris Coombs, 15, noticed the mistake in the 30-second advert, which is regularly shown on Channel 4 and ITV.
The Government-funded clip shows the teacher writing ‘(g2)7 = g?’ on a whiteboard and later ‘solving’ it with the answer ‘g2 x g7’.
But the correct answer for the algebraic equation is g14 – or g2 x g2 x g2 x g2 x g2 x g2 x g2.
Yesterday Year 10 pupil Chris, who attends the John Cabot Academy in Bristol, slammed the advert and called for it to be amended as soon as possible.
He said: ”I was disappointed to notice that the mathematical calculation is inaccurate.
”The workings the teacher is writing on the interactive whiteboard would not answer the question correctly.
”I believe this should be amended as the advertisement in question is attempting to recruit potential teachers.
”Is this a fair reflection of teaching standards in Britain today?”
The Training and Development Agency for Schools created the advert using a real teacher and class.
Several questions, pupil’s discussions, workings and answers were filmed and cut together to give an overall impression of a class.
Yesterday the producers of the ad claimed the scene shown is of the teacher deliberately demonstrating an incorrect answer.
She later went on to explain the correct workings and answer, but this was not shown in the short clip, they claim.
Simon Nutt, from the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA), which made the advert, said: ”Our TV adverts use highly-qualified teachers with their real-life classes.
”We make every effort to capture the spirit of the lesson in the final footage but there are inevitably some scenes that have to be cut down or cut together which may mean we cannot show the full details of a question, answer or comment.”
Chris, who lives in Bristol with mum Sue, dad David and sister Laura, said the advert caught his eye because of his interest in maths.
He said: ”I want to pursue a career in mathematics in one way or another – but not as a maths teacher.”
Adam Williams, principal of John Cabot Academy which Chris attends, praised the schoolboy’s attention to detail.
He said: ”It is great to think that Chris showed that degree of observation and understanding of maths to spot the apparent error in the advert.”
But he added that teachers would have sympathy with the teacher in the advert, as it is standard practice to write up suggestions by students in order to work out the answer.
