Our Brain Up programme is based around the Japanese 1:4 abacus (the ‘soroban’), advocating the use of both hands at abacus training. We combine the principles of soroban and mental calculation, coupled with multimedia-based activities and advanced techniques; this ensures that students make speedy progress and are soon familiar with the base - 10 number system, enabling them to perform quick and accurate mental calculations.

 

Students are first taught the basics of the abacus, followed by visualisation training. This is a unique system where pupils imagine a picture of an abacus in their minds and manipulate the beads of this virtual abacus, as if they were manipulating a physical abacus in their hands.

 

Unlike traditional mathematical education which only trains the left brain, this technique uses the right brain to create the visual imagery of an abacus and uses the left brain to manipulate the virtual beads. This concept of two-hand mental arithmetic utilises both hemispheres of the brain, encouraging a more balanced brain growth.