A GROUP of University of the West Indies (UWI) students and affiliates has made understanding mathematics easier for at least 40 high-school students.

The tertiary group, led by former president of the Guild of Students, Damion Crawford, recently staged a mathematics camp at Taylor Hall at the UWI for the third successive year. The camp catered to 42 fourth-form students from non-traditional high schools. The students are all from inner-city communities.

Crawford said the aim of the camp was "to expose students to the UWI and to further prepare them to pass the problematic subject of mathematics".

Mixed into eight hours of class daily and all-night studying were sports, motivational speeches and hiking.

Chevar Headley, a 17-year-old student of Kingston Technical High School, said he benefited immensely from the mathematics camp.

"I enjoyed every bit of it; every second, every minute. I am now better at the subject," he told The Gleaner.

Chevar said that not only did the camp provide him with the opportunity to be a better student academically, but it allowed him to interact with people who can influence his life more positively.

He said this was not always the case when he was in his community of Jones Town, St. Andrew.

Similarly, Chantell Young, a student at Haile Selassie Comprehensive High, said the camp "was a great experience" which allowed her to learn a great deal about the UWI and what she needed to do in order to join the institution.

Students like Chevar and Chantell havebeen given the commitment that they will be able to get their first taste of CXC mathematics without dipping into their parents' pockets. Crawford, the camp coordinator, told the graduating class that they would be able to sit mathematics in January, free of cost, providing they adhere to set criteria.

He said all campers must have a copy of the text, Certificate Mathematics; must be prepared for Saturday classes, which begin in September; must study mathematics at least six hours per week; and must satisfy teachers that they are ready for CXC.

Crawford said the students' academic readiness will be examined in a proficiency test in November, after which a determination will be made as to whether they are ready for CXC mathematics.

Crawford told The Gleaner that it will cost $160,000 for examination and entrance fees for the students to sit the exam in January, and that he intends to approach corporate Jamaica for assistance. Failing that, he has committed to paying the fees from his own pocket.