Maths education in England has seen steady improvements throughout the 21st century. From New Labour’s focus on numeracy and standards to the Conservatives’ emphasis on mastery teaching, there have been significant advances.
As a result of the hard work of maths teachers across the country, we have risen in international rankings and we have record numbers of students taking A-level maths.
There is a lot to be positive about. However, we mustn’t take progress for granted.
Problems within maths
In 2024, over 40 per cent of students did not reach a grade 4 in GCSE maths. Of those resitting the exam, only 17 per cent reached a grade 4. And while maths is now the most chosen A level, degree enrolments in the subject have plateaued for a decade.
There are persistent gender gaps, with girls comprising only 37 per cent of A-level maths entries and 27 per cent of A-level further maths entries. Add to this the continuing teacher recruitment and retention challenges, and workload pressures.
To address some of these challenges, the government has launched its much-anticipated review of curriculum and assessment in England, led by Professor Becky Francis. Coming 10 years after the national curriculum was last updated, this feels like a great opportunity for maths education.
Taking our cue from the Francis review, we are delighted to be co-leading the Maths Horizons Project, a new rapid review focusing on maths curriculum and assessment.
The project will be chaired by Professor Lord Lionel Tarassenko and includes an outstanding group of advisers from schools, colleges, academia, industry and policy.
This reflects the wide scope of the project, which will cover all key stages, attainment levels and qualification types. While our work will be independent of the Francis review, it has been designed to inform and support it.
Rather than creating a monolithic set of recommendations, we plan to analyse a series of different models for curriculum and assessment. Once these have been built out from high-level principles, we will go beyond this and consider short- and long-term implementation.
Key questions
We plan to address questions such as:
- How long should everyone study the same maths curriculum for, and at what age might pathways diverge?
- Is the curriculum too crowded, and if so what does this mean for calls to add more content?
- Is there still a case for maths to 18, and where would we find the teachers?
When analysing the different design options, we will remain laser-focused on the practicalities and trade-offs. We know there have been major reforms in maths education over recent years, and that maths departments face ongoing challenges.
We want to consult widely and hear from all corners of maths education. In fact, our ambition is to push the boat out and engage with more teachers of maths than ever before, making our recommendations deeply grounded in the realities of classrooms.
Pushing the power of maths
We have both spent our careers in maths education. We believe in the power of maths to change lives and in the value of maths to the UK’s future prosperity. We know that maths is not just a utilitarian tool but can be a fascinating, joyful and creative domain in its own right.
Perhaps most importantly, we believe that children and young people enjoying and succeeding in maths is not only possible, but should be a core expectation of what the school system provides.
We hope that our analysis of different curriculum and assessment options and trade-offs will be helpful to the Francis review team, and to the government as they consider its recommendations.
Whatever they end up concluding, our aim is to help ensure that any future changes to maths education are successfully embedded into classrooms across England.
David Monis-Weston leads a number of projects at Purposeful Ventures and is the former founder and CEO of the Teacher Development Trust.
Dr Helen Drury is the dean of maths excellence with Purposeful Ventures and chair of the Expert Advisory Council at Ark Curriculum Plus.
To find out more about the Maths Horizon project, please visit the website at mathshorizons.uk
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