'There is a beauty in numbers – yes, I think so, especially in nature.”

The musing of a maths master – the head of mathematics at Tauranga Boys College Andrew Ferguson who's hanging up his logarithms after 36 years at his calling, his vocation.

Andrew Ferguson. Photo: Chris Callinan.

He says he's going to miss it, even the 'ratbags” he has taught. However the pull of a Himalayan Marathon in Nepal, the prospect of a 60 kilometre Keplar Challenge in under nine hours and a mountain bike ride the length of New Zealand is just too much.

Not bad for a man coming up 60 clicks later this year. And there's also 20 years of neglected home maintenance to catch up with.

'I won't forget numbers – I will have to keep my brain active.”

But first he has to explain his beauty in numbers concept to a reporter who failed school certificate maths. Twice to be honest.

'In nature there are a lot of numbers. Like the Fibonacci series.”

The Fibonacci series, 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34 ……the next number is found by adding the two previous numbers.

And the Fibonacci numbers are apparently nature's numbering system, appearing everywhere in nature from the leaf arrangement of plants, to the pattern of florets on a flower, the bracts of a pine cone or scales of a pineapple.

The numbers are applicable to the growth of every living thing. Therein lies the beauty.

'And like in circles where they find the relationship between the diameter and circumference is Pi, these special numbers are pretty amazing.”

But the real fascination for Andrew Ferguson, the man some discreetly called ‘Fergie', is that numbers come easy for him. 'I remember numbers, they stay in my mind, and I love problem solving, working things out.”

‘Fergie' – which is a lot less disparaging than ‘Pun' and ‘Oink', two no-nonsense maths masters of yesteryear who conspired to make maths an ordeal for this reporter. ‘Fergie' understands.

'In the past when kids struggled with maths, there wasn't a lot of sympathy.”

But college maths today is a much more attractive thing – much more relevant and engaging. 'It's much more applied and connected to real situations to make it easier for kids to work out.”

And kids are placed in courses where they can be successful. 'That makes a huge difference. If you can see you are going to succeed you are more likely to give it a go.” So maths is exciting and stimulating now.

And the kids have changed. 'Much more socialised, they interact much better and there are hardly any confrontations. And it's much more relaxed working with them and much more pleasurable.”

Even the ‘ratbags' are basically good, likeable kids. 'And we can have conversations nowadays.” Fearless conversations.

Andrew Ferguson tells the story of one year 10 student. He was going to put $50 on the All Blacks to beat Australia by 20 or more points. 'The TAB was paying $3.50 so he stood to make $175.”

Towards the end of the game there was a 20 point separation but the Australians had the chance of a penalty and a couple of tries. 'And I was worried for him, I kept thinking poor kid.” Fortunately the punter's dad forgot to place the bet.

The students feel comfortable enough with this man to share their stories. And Andrew Ferguson, the numbers man, can have a laugh every day.

And he's also in awe. 'You just keep coming across more and more amazing kids, and many, more who are disadvantaged. Parents struggle to get them the basics. Even so, they do surprisingly well. But you wouldn't realise how tough some kids have it.”

One specific piece of advice after nearly four decades of shaping young maths minds? 'If you experience difficulties, get help. One on one can fix most things pretty quickly.” He often has kids coming back at lunchtime for tuition. 'It shows they want to get better and are prepared to put in the time. And most of them end up doing very well.”

In 2009 he was awarded a NZ Royal Society Fellowship for a year, sponsored by the University of Auckland Statistics and Plant and Food Research at Te Puke. The purpose was to show teachers how their subject was used in a vocational setting.

Andrew Ferguson started teaching at Boys College in 1980, spent eight years at Wairarapa College in Masterton, had a sojourn at Langley School in Bromley, London, before returning to Boys College.

Great school, strong department, great team, great kids. 'The teachers know their stuff and know how to relate to the kids. So it has been a privilege.”