In January, we launched a competition inviting children from Pre-School through to S3 to design a mascot for Maths Week Scotland. Or as we like to call it, a 'Mathscot'. We were absolutely overwhelmed by the response - we received over 1,000 entries from across Scotland, with children of all ages from 3 to 14 represented. It was not easy choosing the winners, with so many fantastic entries and so much creativity!

There were four different age categories, aligning with the Levels of the Scottish education curriculum. We made a short list, based on creativity, uniqueness, and how well we felt the designs represented Maths Week Scotland, and then our colleagues from National Museum Scotland's Learning & Engagement department acted as an independent jury to cast the final votes. In the end, we decided to pick not only the four winners, but also a runner-up for each age category.

Out of the four category winners, one overall winner was chosen to become our new Mathscot, which will be turned in to a plushy toy and will feature in this year's Maths Week Scotland 'Maths Tales' campaign.

Overall Winner

'Finn Finity' by William, age 7, from Edinburgh

The judges loved this unique design. They felt the infinity symbol represented Maths Week Scotland’s message really well, that maths is everywhere and part of everything. The design is also fun, showing the fun side of maths, and it uses the Maths Week Scotland brand colours. The judges liked the catchy name too. Overall, everyone felt this design ticked all the boxes, and that Finn Finity has lots of personality, which is exactly what we were looking for in a Mathscot.

Here is our full gallery of winners and runners-up:

Early Years: Pre School & P1

Winner: Rainbow Caterpillar

Aria, age 5, from Woodhead Primary School in Hamilton

Runner-up: Addie Scot

Rae, age 6, from St Andrews Primary School in Dundee

First Level: P2 – P4

Winner (and overall winner): Finn Finity

William, age 7, from Parsons Green Primary in Edinburgh

Runner-up: Robin the Ruler

Fergus, age 7, from Lochwinnoch Primary School

Second Level: P5 – P7

Winner: Matamataig the Haggis

Maddie, age 11, from Livingston Village Primary School

Runner-up: Cassie the Calculator

Jacob, age 10, from Barsail Primary School in Erskine

Third/Fourth Level: S1 – S3

Winner: Pi-nelope

Lily & Lucy, age 13, from Lesmahagow High School

Runner-up: Mathy Macintosh

Amy, age 14, from Larkhall Academy