Growing post-16 maths participation: promoting the benefits of Core Maths

This project aims to raise the profile of Core Maths, encourage its take-up in schools and colleges, and promote its benefits, particularly to HE, thereby contributing to the UK government’s ambition to increase post-16 mathematics participation. Support for transition to and continuity within post-16 mathematics is particularly important in 2020, as students have endured an enforced break in their educational experience due to COVID-19.

To achieve these aims, we will collaborate with government-funded national education programmes, the Advanced Maths Support Programme (AMSP) and National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics (NCETM), to co- produce materials such as blogs, infographics, podcasts, and short films, informed by our Nuffield Foundation-funded Core Maths research. The resources will demonstrate successful ways for centres to implement this new course.

Our data-rich modern democratic society demands mathematically literate citizens. The long-term impact on the economy which would result from widespread post-16 maths participation, an aspiration of the Industrial Strategy (2017), is clear. We will promote the benefits of studying Core Maths, including students’ increased mathematical confidence, emphasising how encouraging more students to take Core Maths would benefit HE study, employment, individuals’ life skills and wider society, potentially mitigating some of the impact of school closures in 2020.

Dr Matt Homer can be contacted by email: M.S.Homer@education.leeds.ac.uk