# Dara Ó Briain: School of Hard Sums

Dara Ó Briain: School of Hard Sums was a British comedy game show about the subject of mathematics, based on the Japanese show Comaneci University Mathematics. The programme was broadcast on Dave, was presented by Dara Ó Briain, and starred Marcus du Sautoy. Each episode was themed and Ó Briain, along with a guest or guests, attempted to solve various conundrums set by du Sautoy. At the end of each episode, Ó Briain set homework questions for viewers; the answers could be checked on the show's website.

## Transmissions

| Series | Start date | End date | Episodes |
| 1 | 16 April 2012 | 4 June 2012 | 8 |
| 2 | 1 May 2013 | 19 June 2013 | 8 |
| 3 | 4 March 2014 | 22 April 2014 | 8 |

## Episodes

A pilot episode was produced with the title Dara O'Briain's University of Practical Mathematics, but this was never broadcast.
The coloured backgrounds denote the result of each of the shows:
| Brains | Dara O'Briain ("Brains") won |
| Brawn | Guests ("Brawn") won |
| Students | Maths students won (Series 1 and 3 only. In Series 2, the maths students were on the Brains team.) |
| Draw | Draw |

### Series 1

| # | Theme | Guests | Result | Original air date |
| 1 | The Mathematics of Positioning | David O'Doherty | Brains | 16 April 2012 (2012-04-16) |
| 2 | Location Location Maths | Alex Horne | Brawn | 23 April 2012 (2012-04-23) |
| 3 | How Maths Can Stop You Getting Screwed | Jason Byrne | Students | 30 April 2012 (2012-04-30) |
| 4 | You Can't Argue With Logic | Andi Osho | Brawn | 7 May 2012 (2012-05-07) |
| 5 | The Maths of Italian Restaurants | David O'Doherty | Students | 14 May 2012 (2012-05-14) |
| 6 | How Maths Saves Lives | Alex Horne | Brawn | 21 May 2012 (2012-05-21) |
| 7 | Finding Your Way with Maths | Simon Evans | Brains | 28 May 2012 (2012-05-28) |
| 8 | The Maths of Sport | Andi Osho | Brains | 4 June 2012 (2012-06-04) |

### Series 2

| # | Theme | Guests | Result | Original air date |
| 1 | Does Crime Add Up? | Andrew Maxwell Mark Watson | Brains | 1 May 2013 (2013-05-01) |
| 2 | How Maths Gets You More Bang for Your Buck | Marcus Brigstocke Josh Widdicombe | Brawn | 8 May 2013 (2013-05-08) |
| 3 | How Maths Can Keep the Peace | Susan Calman David O'Doherty | Draw | 15 May 2013 (2013-05-15) |
| 4 | How Maths Can Help You Find What You're Looking For | Miles Jupp Stephen Mangan | Brawn | 22 May 2013 (2013-05-22) |
| 5 | How Maths Can Get You Stuffed | Marcus Brigstocke Andrew Maxwell | Brains | 29 May 2013 (2013-05-29) |
| 6 | Maths of the End of the World | Josie Long Alex Horne | Brawn | 5 June 2013 (2013-06-05) |
| 7 | How Maths Can Feel the Force | Susan Calman Richard Herring | Draw | 12 June 2013 (2013-06-12) |
| 8 | How Maths Can Take You All the Way | Alex Horne Tim Key | Draw | 19 June 2013 (2013-06-19) |

### Series 3

| # | Theme | Guests | Result | Original air date |
| 1 | Maths and Two Veg: How Maths Can Help You Eat Better | Kevin Bridges Peter Serafinowicz | Brains | 4 March 2014 (2014-03-04) |
| 2 | Yo Ho Ho and A Bottle of Sums: Maths For Pirates | Lee Mack Miles Jupp | Brawn | 11 March 2014 (2014-03-11) |
| 3 | The Maths of Making and Breaking: Breaking Add | Jon Richardson Sally Phillips | Brawn | 18 March 2014 (2014-03-18) |
| 4 | Downton Abacus: The Maths of Wealth | Mark Watson Marcus Brigstocke | Brains | 25 March 2014 (2014-03-25) |
| 5 | Alfresco Arithmetic: The Maths of the Great Outdoors | Josh Widdicombe Peter Serafinowicz | Brawn | 1 April 2014 (2014-04-01) |
| 6 | The Maths of Balls: Lets Get Spherical | Susan Calman Andrew Maxwell | Brawn | 8 April 2014 (2014-04-08) |
| 7 | The Prime of Your Life: The Maths of Old Age | Jon Richardson Stephen K Amos | Draw | 15 April 2014 (2014-04-15) |
| 8 | Maths of Sport: Maths of the Day | Kevin Bridges Sally Phillips | Students | 22 April 2014 (2014-04-22) |

## Reaction

Readers of UKGameshows.com named it on a two way tie, the seventh best new game show of 2012 in their "Hall of fame" poll.