Maths school
{{Short description|Specialist school}}
{{use dmy dates|date=November 2023}}
{{distinguish|text=the specialist Maths and Computing College, which also specialises in mathematics}}
File:Kingsmathsschool.png in London, England]]
A maths school is a type of specialist free school sixth form college{{cite news|date=2021-11-25|title=Maths school to open with help from Cambridge University|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-59407539|access-date=2022-01-26}} in England which specialises in the study of mathematics. Each maths school is sponsored by a university{{cite web |title=DfE invites top universities to open specialist maths free schools {{!}} New Schools Network |url=https://www.newschoolsnetwork.org/what-are-free-schools/free-school-news/dfe-invites-top-universities-to-open-specialist-maths-free |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=www.newschoolsnetwork.org}} and, frequently, also a nearby established sixth form college or multi-academy trust.{{cite web |title=How to open a maths school |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-open-a-maths-school|access-date=2022-01-26 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}} All students in a maths school must follow a course of study that includes A-Levels in mathematics and further mathematics.
Maths schools receive additional funding from central government, above what a standard sixth form college would receive, with the aim of providing an enriched curriculum and student experience, so that students are better prepared for studies in mathematics or related subjects at competitive universities, or for careers requiring high levels of mathematical skill.{{cite web|title=How to apply to set up a maths school for 16 to 19 year olds|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-open-a-maths-school/how-to-apply-to-set-up-a-maths-school-for-16-to-19-year-olds|access-date=2022-01-26|website=GOV.UK|language=en}} Maths schools are selective and all students seeking to apply must have, at minimum, a grade 8 in GCSE mathematics. Students must also sit an entry exam before being admitted.{{cite news |author=Jess Staufenberg |date=13 December 2020 |title=Do maths schools have proof of concept yet? |url=https://schoolsweek.co.uk/the-idea-is-totally-solid-%e2%80%a8it-just-works/ |access-date=2022-01-26 |work=Schools Week |language=en-GB}}{{cite web |last=Downs |first=Janet |date=2018-05-12 |title=The chancellor can't make maths schools add up |url=https://schoolsweek.co.uk/the-chancellor-cant-make-maths-schools-add-up/ |access-date=2022-01-26 |website=schoolsweek.co.uk |language=en-GB}}
Features of maths schools
Maths free schools are for 16 to 19 year pupils who have a great aptitude for maths. As set out in the government’s Industrial Strategy, maths schools help to encourage highly skilled graduates in sectors that depend on science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills.{{Cite web |title=How to apply to set up a maths school for 16 to 19 year olds |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-open-a-maths-school/how-to-apply-to-set-up-a-maths-school-for-16-to-19-year-olds |access-date=2022-01-26 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}} The aim of maths schools is to prepare the most mathematically able pupils to succeed in mathematics-related disciplines at highly selective maths universities and pursue mathematically intensive careers. Maths schools can also be centres of excellence in raising attainment, supporting and influencing the teaching of mathematics in their surrounding area, and are central to their associated universities’ widening participation commitments.
They are free schools, however they are unique in multiple ways. Free schools are legally barred from partaking in academic selection,{{cite web|title=Do you know your free schools from your academies? Here's our guide to secondary schools in England|url=https://edcentral.uk/edblogreader/do-you-know-your-free-schools-from-your-academies-here-s-our-guide-to-secondary-schools-in-england|access-date=2022-01-26|website=EdCentral|language=en-gb}} however all maths schools are selective and therefore exempt from this rule. They are not required to follow both the School Admissions Code and the School Admission Appeal Code. Maths schools are, in most cases, housed in old repurposed buildings that have undergone refurbishment and remodelling. Every maths school is run by an academy trust,{{cite web|title=Opening a 16 to 19 specialist maths school|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/822102/20190723_-_Proposer_guidance_-_maths_schools_-_update.pdf|access-date=2022-01-26|website=assets.publishing.service.gov.uk}} sponsored by a university and, sometimes additionally, an existing local sixth form college or multi-academy trust.{{cite web |title=Lancaster University School of Mathematics, Preston, Lancashire |url=https://lusom.ac.uk/ |access-date=2022-04-06 |website=Lancaster University School of Mathematics |language=en-GB}}{{cite web |title=Exeter Maths School |url=https://www.facebook.com/exetermathematicsschool |access-date=2022-04-06 |website=Exeter Mathematics School |language=en}} Each year, they receive an additional £350,000 of funding from central government. The curricula of specialist maths schools are provided through partnerships with sponsor universities. All students at maths schools must study A-levels in mathematics and further mathematics and they usually study physics and/or computer science in addition.{{cite web|title=New measures announced to help boost the nation's skills|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-announced-to-help-boost-the-nations-skills|access-date=2022-01-26|website=GOV.UK|language=en}} They are exclusively for students aged 16 to 19, whereas normal free schools and other academies can serve students from primary education onwards.{{cite web|title=Free schools: the basics {{!}} New Schools Network|url=https://www.newschoolsnetwork.org/free-schools-the-basics|access-date=2022-01-27|website=www.newschoolsnetwork.org}}{{cite web|title=What is an academy and what are the benefits? - The Education Hub|url=https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2021/10/14/what-is-an-academy-and-what-are-the-benefits/|access-date=2022-01-27|website=educationhub.blog.gov.uk|date=14 October 2021 |language=en}}
Maths schools are required, as part of their core business, to deliver significant outreach work – programmes that help establish maths schools as centres of excellence. Outreach plans are developed in collaboration with local schools and colleges and are integral to the widening commitments of a maths school's sponsor university. They prioritise disadvantaged students, primarily girls, and raise awareness of the mathematics curriculum that will be offered by the school to potential students, preparing them for the study of advanced mathematics. Outreach programmes are complemented by maths hubs, regional leadership networks for mathematical improvement.
History
Maths schools were conceptualised by Dominic Cummings during his time as adviser to Education Secretary Michael Gove in 2010.{{Cite web|date=2019-10-04|title=Williamson challenges universities to open maths schools|url=https://schoolsweek.co.uk/open-a-maths-school-to-show-youre-serious-about-helping-kids-williamson-tells-unis/|access-date=2022-01-26|website=schoolsweek.co.uk|language=en-GB}} They were largely inspired by the Russian institutions of the same name, established by renowned mathematician Andrey Kolmogorov.{{Cite web|last=|title=Specialist maths schools – some facts|url=https://dominiccummings.com/tag/maths-schools/|access-date=2022-02-14|website=Dominic Cummings's Blog|date=23 January 2017 |language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2016-03-12|title=The UK has looked to Russia in a bid to improve maths teaching|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/maths-sixth-form-college-uk-follows-russia-example-a6927796.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/maths-sixth-form-college-uk-follows-russia-example-a6927796.html |archive-date=2022-05-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2022-02-14|website=The Independent|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2012-12-14|title=Free school will be first to specialise in maths|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/free-school-will-be-first-to-specialise-in-maths-8418093.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220512/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/free-school-will-be-first-to-specialise-in-maths-8418093.html |archive-date=2022-05-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2022-02-14|website=The Independent|language=en}} They were announced by the Cameron–Clegg coalition a year later, with the aim of 12 being established over a three-year period.{{Cite news|date=2011-11-26|title=Free schools in England set for extra £600m|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/education-15901118|access-date=2022-01-26}}{{Cite news|date=2013-07-10|title=Universities urged to back maths schools|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/education-23243533|access-date=2022-01-26}} The first two maths schools, the King's College London Mathematics School and Exeter Mathematics School, opened in 2014.
In January 2017, Prime Minister Theresa May announced her intention for every British city to have a maths schools. A budget of £170 million was allocated for this purpose.{{Cite news|last=Riley-Smith|first=Ben|date=2017-01-21|title=A maths school in every city: Theresa May announces new technical training drive to prepare country for Brexit|language=en-GB|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/01/21/maths-school-every-city-theresa-may-announces-new-technical/|access-date=2022-01-26|issn=0307-1235}} In November 2017, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond granted an annual fund of £350,000 to every maths school. In March 2017 the Minister for Schools, Nick Gibb, promoted maths schools, asking multiple universities to establish them.{{Cite web |title=Top universities urged to open new maths schools |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/top-universities-urged-to-open-new-maths-schools |access-date=2023-11-16 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}
In September 2019, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced a plan to establish nine more specialist maths schools (for a total of eleven), with four already in development in Cambridge, Lancaster, Liverpool and Surrey.{{Cite web|title=Williamson: A revolution in further education - delivering for the forgotten 50 per cent|url=https://policymogul.com/monitor/key-updates/4934/williamson-a-revolution-in-further-education-delivering-for-the-forgotten-50-per-cent|access-date=2022-01-26|website=policymogul.com|language=en}} At the 2019 Conservative Party Conference it was announced that the eleven maths school would consist of at least one in every region of England and the establishment of one in Durham was confirmed.{{cite web|title=Conservative Party Conference 2019: Expanding specialist Maths Free Schools|url=https://www.wbca.org.uk/news/conservative-party-conference-2019-expanding-specialist-maths-free-schools|access-date=2022-01-26|date=3 October 2019|website=West Berkshire Conservatives|language=en}} These plans were reinforced in March 2020 when Chancellor Rishi Sunak released that year's budget. The budget dedicated £7 million to the establishment of these maths schools.{{cite news|date=11 March 2020|author=David Batty|title=Chancellor pledges specialist maths school in every English region|url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/mar/11/chancellor-pledges-specialist-maths-school-in-every-english-region|newspaper=The Guardian|language=en}} Further developments in 2020 included the announcement of a second maths school in London in July, the opening of the third maths school, University of Liverpool Maths School, in September, and the announcement of a maths school in Leeds in November. More maths schools are opening from 2022.
List of current and approved future maths schools
See also
References
{{OGL-attribution|{{Cite web|title=Opening a 16 to 19 specialist maths school|url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/822102/20190723_-_Proposer_guidance_-_maths_schools_-_update.pdf|access-date=2022-01-26|website=assets.publishing.service.gov.uk}} }}
{{Reflist}}{{Academies Programme}}{{Specialist schools in the United Kingdom}}{{Schools}}{{Education in the United Kingdom}}{{Mathematics in the United Kingdom}}
Category:Mathematics education in the United Kingdom