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Background

Bridge is a card game, which has provided countless years of recreation and fun to many people. Mini-Bridge is a simplified form of bridge, a game played across the world by millions of people. The English Bridge Union (EBU) believes that Mini-Bridge will help improve numeracy, memory and other skills:

• It involves the use of mental arithmetic and simple calculations.
• Needs logical thought and reasoning.
• Requires planning and decision making.
• Involves partnership co-operation.
• Requires concentration and disciplined thinking.
• Is great fun.

Mini-Bridge can be learned at any age, but is most effective in schools when taught to 10-12 year olds. Mini-Bridge can be used in the classroom during mathematics or other lessons, or as an after-school activity.

What was planned?

In 2000 the EBU conducted an independent study to explore whether teaching Mini-Bridge to primary age pupils between the ages of 9-11 could benefit school performance particularly in relation to social skills, maths, short-term working memory and non-verbal reasoning.

What was done?

The research was carried out at St Paul’s Church of England Primary School in Manchester. The academic progress of a group of 10 out of 30 pupils attending a 34-week lunchtime Mini-Bridge course of 40 minutes per week over one school year was closely monitored. At the end of the course questionnaires relating to social skills, school achievement and behaviour in the home were circulated to all participating pupils, teachers, and parents. Group and personal interviews were organised with pupils and teachers, and tests of mental arithmetic, non-verbal reasoning, concentration and short term memory were given to the experimental group and a matched control group before and after the course.

What has been the impact and how is it verified?

The classes were very successful and drew interest from more pupils than had originally been envisaged. Students were so keen that they were concerned that "failure" on the assessments might prevent them from attending future lessons. The most apparent impact was made in relation to the development of behaviour and social skills in bridge sessions, and in and out of class.

• Pupils, parents and teachers reported that students became more confident in speaking to each other and to a whole class, helping their partners and sharing and listening to others.
• Pupils learned to follow rules and developed greaterability to allow opponents to play without disruption, both at bridge and in the playground or classroom.
• Pupils learned to be good winners and losers.
• Teachers noted that students became more supportive and tolerant towards their peers and learnt to persevere with difficult learning situations.
• Students turned to their cards in unstructured activity time (break and dinner times) and made friends outside of their usual friendship groups.
• Two students who had been identified by teachers as having behavioural difficulties affecting their access to school based  curriculum, behaved well in Mini-Bridge sessions and demonstrated their potential ability through an activity not perceived as school oriented.

What has been learnt?

Those students who had been most successful at learning bridge were the ones who showed the most significant gains in maths and non-verbal reasoning. The tests of mental arithmetic, non-verbal reasoning, concentration and short term memory did not show any statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups. This is likely to have been due to the small sample size and the assessment tools which may not have been sensitive enough to pick up changes. However the small-scale study suggests that Mini-Bridge does promote the development of social and behavioural skills and improves mental arithmetic, non-verbal reasoning and the ability to focus and concentrate.

What Next?

This holistic experience has had an impact on home as well as school life for all pupils. It is hoped that the excitement and motivation for learning Mini-Bridge will have transferred into school based activities in general. These results were obtained from a small-scale study further research is warranted and EBU have plans in place to implement a larger scale study in liaison with a university psychology department.

EBU Promoting Bridge Awareness to Ministers

Some children from St Paul’s Church of England primary school travelled to London to see David Miliband MP, Minister of State for School Standards, to demonstrate how Mini-Bridge could be an asset to the classroom curriculum. They demonstrated their skills at the bridge table to a group of grown-ups that included Baroness Angela Billingham, a couple of American university professors and a dozen MPs.  This was part of an initiative by EBU to raise awareness of bridge in England and EBU Chairman Denis Robson and Manchester MP Keith Bradley were there to host a reception to offer MPs a chance to discuss with teachers, students and other experts the value of Mini-Bridge as an educational tool.

Keith Bradley, MP for Withington area, took the children on a brief tour of Parliament before the reception. Then there was a two-hour talk and play session about Mini-Bridge and its wider benefits. It proved to be an enjoyable session for all involved with the Minister joining the bridge table with Keith Bradley MP and Denis Robson.

Afterwards David Miliband said: "For education to continue to advance we must continue to be forward thinking. Innovations such as the English Bridge Union’s development of Mini-Bridge as a learning device are to be encouraged and have my support. It has been a pleasure to witness primary school children’s complete concentration, while so obviously enjoying playing Mini-Bridge, a game that is proven to improve their school learning."

For further information about Mini-Bridge and EBU’s School Bridge Programme visit their website.