Playing the same name game

Keeping up with the Joneses will take on a whole new meaning when dozens of Welsh people sharing the name compete to become the ultimate Jones family.

XLWales Family Technology Centre in Swansea, south Wales, is challenging families of Joneses to put their heads together and solve computer and building problems.

Organisers are expecting up to 200 people to take part in four play-off days throughout May.

The competing families must field teams containing at leastf one child and one adult.

They will have to complete more challenges than any other family in order to become the top Jones team at the event which takes place on Saturday 11 May.

Children will have to complete IT challenges with an adult as part of the competition

Three more days for families with the names Davies, Thomas and Williams will follow.

The centre opened last year offering families the opportunity to learn about technology in a very hands-on manner.

Everybody who visited the centre received a record of achievement and the results were ranked in a league table.

Staff noticed that there were lots of people called Jones and Davies doing quite well, not a surprising statistic for a centre operating in Wales.

They decided to compile a table of the four best performing names and challenge families bearing the same name to go head-to-head for a day.

The centre is offering free entry to any Joneses who come along to take part in the first day's challenge.

Managing director Andy Shercliff said: "We though it would be quite fun to bring them all together.

We thought it would be quite good fun to bring them all together

Andy Shercliff, MD XLWales

"Half the challenges are computer-based, what we call discovery challenges.

"For example, people would have to go into websites and discover lots of information or do puzzles or quizes.

"There are also software-based or CD-ROM challenges to carry out."

Other types of problem solving will involve children using K'NEX construction ware to build a specified object.

"They will have to design a mousetrap which will catch a mouse without hurting it," said Mr Shercliff.

"We don't know how many people we're expecting but on a busy day it would be going on for 200 people."

The following day will be the turn of the Davieses, with Swansea West's Welsh Assembly Member Andrew Davies expected to have a go at the challenges.

The final two days of the competition will take place on May 18 for Thomases and May 26 for Williamses.

Once all four days have been completed, the family which gains the overall highest score will receive an award from the Assembly's Education Minister Jane Davidson at a presentation ceremony in June.