Half of disadvantaged primary pupils who achieve top Sats marks in maths see a significant decline in attainment by the time they take their GCSEs, research shows.
And many more top maths pupils see their interest and attainment in the subject fall after they transition into Year 7, according to charity Axiom Maths.
This results in around 30,000 talented maths students “disappearing” from the system, according to the charity, which is run by former Department for Education adviser and ex-maths teacher David Thomas.
The research draws from University of Nottingham data showing that, out of around 11,260 pupils in the lowest disadvantage bracket who achieved level 5U or above in maths at the end of key stage 2, only 52.1 per cent progressed on to achieve a grade 7 or above at GCSE.
This compares with 73.5 per cent of the least disadvantaged pupils.
Axiom Maths also surveyed 2,000 pupils in Years 6 to 9, and found that high-attaining pupils are 25 per cent less likely to say maths is fun as they move into Year 7, compared with Year 6.
They are also twice as likely to report maths as boring.
Supporting high attainers in maths
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said that, because of wider factors associated with disadvantage, “the performance of pupils achieving well at primary school may unfortunately dip at a later stage, and in a subject like maths, where not grasping a key concept can derail future learning, this can be particularly pronounced”.
Kathryn Greenhalgh, executive director of mathematics at Outwood Grange Academies Trust and chair of the national Maths Hub Council, said: “The fact is we should not be letting any maths pupil ‘go missing’.
“We need to urgently look at the findings and pinpoint what factors contribute to that drop-off when some promising primary maths students get into their secondary school.”
Axiom Maths is inviting secondary schools to sign up for a fully funded maths enrichment programme for high-attaining secondary students. The “Maths Champions” scheme includes weekly maths groups with a mentor.
Mr Thomas, Axiom’s chief executive officer, said: “There’s a crucial window of opportunity to stop young talent slipping through the net in Years 7 and 8. The aim is to make them feel special and valued at an uneasy time of transition, exciting them about the boundless places their talent can take them.”
Peter Mattock, assistant principal at Brockington College and author of several maths books, told Tes that the findings rang true for many of the schools he has taught in.
“There are all sorts of reasons why pupils, particularly disadvantaged ones, might fall off from achieving those high grades,” he said. “Some of it may be their experience of maths, some of it their experience at school more generally, and some of it may be other personal circumstances.”
He added: “This isn’t necessarily just a maths problem but I do think sometimes there is a tendency at secondary to make maths feel new and different to primary. I don’t think that’s necessarily always a good thing when kids are managing all sorts of transitions.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said £100 million has been invested in the Maths Hubs programme to improve standards, and almost 9,000 schools participated in a work group to help their transition between primary and secondary.
