A GROUP of aspiring young mathematicians have been treated to a special talk by one of the UK's top experts in the subject.

Professor Marcus du Sautoy impressed an audience of sixthformers with his knowledge of prime numbers and intricate mathematical patterns during a visit to Forest School.

Prof du Sautoy, who lectures at Oxford University and writes regular articles for The Times - recently presented a BBC series on the subect called, The Story of Maths.

The talk was the first in a series of annual events planned for sixthformers at the school, in College Place.

Teacher, George Paynter said the event - which was also part of the school's 175th anniversary celebrations - was even better than expected.

He said: "Our expectations were sky-high, and the professor did not disappoint.

"Topics ranged from David Beckham’s number 23 shirt for Real Madrid, through to why 32 might not be the next number in the sequence 1,2,4,8,16 - to recognising randomness in lottery numbers.

"We learned that the biggest known prime number has 13 million digits and that there are monetary rewards if you can find another.

"He also informed us that prime numbers help to explain the life cycle of a certain cicada and why lemmings don’t necessarily throw themselves off cliffs.

"The talk ended with details of how to score spectacularly from 30 yards and the mathematics behind it.

"We are very grateful to Marcus for his inspiring and entertaining take on the world of maths."