Plans for the latest in a series of specialist maths sixth-form schools has been approved by the Department for Education.

The new school is to based in North London and has been developed in a partnership between Imperial College London and Woodhouse College, a state sixth-form college in Finchley, North London.

It will specialise in maths and further maths for 16- to 19-year-old students.

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Known as the Imperial College London Mathematics School, it will draw from a broad catchment area in London and outside, and aims to use outreach and wider admissions criteria to attract more female students, students from black and minority ethnic groups and students from disadvantaged or under-represented communities.

The launch of specialist maths sixth-form schools

After the green light from the DfE, if everything goes to plan the school could potentially be open from autumn 2023 on the current Woodhouse College campus in North Finchley.

It will become the eighth in a series of specialist maths sixth-form schools linked to universities.

The University of Liverpool Mathematics School was announced in 2018 following the success of similar sixth-form schools opened by King’s College London and the University of Exeter.

Since then specialist maths sixth forms backed by the universities of Surrey, Lancaster, Durham and Cambridge have also been approved.

And in March chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged to provide every region in the country with funding for a specialist 16-19 maths school, backed by £7m in the Budget to open 11 specialist maths schools around the country. The DfE says it has plans for nine of the schools to be open by 2023.

The schools were originally the brainchild of former education secretary Michael Gove and his then adviser Dominic Cummings.

Back in 2012, they set out to create highly specialised maths schools with links to universities, based on the Kolmogorov Physics and Mathematics School in Moscow.

The launch of the Imperial College London Mathematics School is being billed as the first time the world top 10 university has entered such a significant partnership with a school.

The school will open for an initial 60 students, rising to 100 students per year over time, with the aim of sending more maths students from disadvantaged backgrounds to leading universities such as Imperial College.

A spokesperson for Imperial said: “Our aspiration is very much to appeal to pupils from disadvantaged or under-represented backgrounds and we will make sure our admissions process enables them to shine - even if they haven’t had the kind of early education others have benefitted from.”

Education secretary Gavin Williamson said: “Maths schools offer talented young people, including many from disadvantaged backgrounds, the opportunity to make the most of their abilities by tapping into the expertise of our world-class universities, as they strive to become the mathematicians of the future.

“Last year we set out our ambition to open maths schools in every region of the country to help more talented young people, regardless of their gender or background, to study maths at A level and beyond, Imperial College London’s specialist school is another step forward towards achieving this.”

John Rubinstein, principal of Woodhouse College, said it would “create a unique learning environment for A-level maths students who have a real passion for the subject”.

“There will be benefits for students at Woodhouse, too,” he added. “With our experience of running a successful sixth-form school combined with the potential for Imperial to challenge and inspire a new generation of mathematicians from all backgrounds, we are really excited about the future.”

The new school is also planning other outreach activities such as delivering professional development opportunities for primary and secondary maths teachers.

It will be a part of a growing national network of specialist maths schools aimed at increasing the number of Stem graduates.