Students in 91原创 struggling with basic math skills will now have the opportunity to get extra, thanks to efforts from the 91原创 School District Foundation.

A total of $51,000 was raised at the seventh annual Grand Prix Gala, held at Thunderbird Show Park on June 3, which will be used to purchase 鈥淒o the Math鈥� kits for the school district.

Nearly 70 per cent of high school students who do not graduate from Grade 12 are prevented from graduating by  poor math skills, said Susan Cairns, executive director of the 91原创 School District Foundation.

鈥淎 lot of times what happens is some kids miss the concepts early on, but it鈥檚 not really recognized,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey keep getting passed and going through the system until about Grade 10. Then it becomes clear they can鈥檛 do math properly, they鈥檝e missed it along the way. That鈥檚 quite tragic, they can鈥檛 go on to university programs and a lot of times they don鈥檛 graduate at all.鈥�

The kits are designed to teach these kids the basic math concepts to help students who have fallen behind catch up.

Last year, money raised at the annual event went to furnishing schools with the online Kurzweil software 鈥� a reading, writing and study skills program to help students with learning disabilities learn at the same grade-level as their classmates.

This year鈥檚 grand prix event featured a world-class horse jumping competition, wine tasting, gourmet food and a silent auction which raised $10,000.

鈥淓ven though it was a little chilly, the event went very well. People enjoyed it, the venue was fantastic and the horses, wine tasting, hors d鈥檕euvres and silent auction,鈥� Cairns said.