the Further Mathematics network

Welcome to fmnetwork.org.uk

Network News

Jobs at the Millennium Mathemtics Project in Cambridge

Two jobs are available:

1)Further Maths Centre Project Coordinator

 2)NRICH Secondary Teaching Associate

For full details see the Millennium Mathematics Project's website.

Excellent increases for AS/A level Mathematics and Further Mathematics

Both Mathematics and Further Mathematics have built upon last year’s increased entry with further significant rises.

  • AS Mathematics numbers are up from 77387 to 84613, a 9.3% increase.
  • A level Mathematics numbers are up from 60093 to 64593, a 7.5% increase.
  • AS Further Mathematics numbers are up from 7426 to 8945, a 20.5% increase.
  • A level Further Mathematics numbers are up from 7872 to 9091, a 15.5% increase.

These increases are an excellent reward for the efforts of the various initiatives set up to promote and support mathematics. The continued very large increases in Further Mathematics numbers show the effectiveness of targeting support for Further Mathematics through the Further Mathematics Network.

Since the Further Mathematics Network was set up in academic year 2004/5, Further Mathematics numbers have increased by 125% at AS level and 59% at A level. Students with Further Mathematics qualifications are especially welcomed by universities because their extended mathematics knowledge means they are very well prepared for degree courses in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

The Further Mathematics Network is particularly keen to widen participation in Further Mathematics. It has enabled many students to take Further Mathematics from schools and colleges that previously would not have been able to offer it. Much has been achieved and the figures are very encouraging, but there is still a great deal of work to be done to ensure that all students who would benefit from studying Further Mathematics are aware of it and realise they have access to tuition.

Our full press release contains more information, including quotes and contact details.

Great news for mathematics as A level Mathematics and Further Mathematics entries continue to grow

When the A level results are published later this week, both Mathematics and Further Mathematics will show healthy growth with substantial increases in the numbers of students completing these prestigious qualifications.

This is excellent news, particularly following the publication of a number of reports this year, which have highlighted the importance to the UK economy of young people highly skilled in mathematics.

The increase in A level Mathematics is expected to be between 5% and 10% and for Further Mathematics around 15%. This will mean that A level Mathematics numbers will be at their highest point for 15 years and that Further Mathematics numbers will have increased by about 60% at A level and well over 100% at AS level since 2004.

Our full press release contains more information, including quotes and contact details.

July 2008: QCA report on schools and colleges offering Further Mathematics released

QCA has now released its report 'Offering further mathemtics as part of the A level curriculum' The report explains the advantages to schools, colleges and students of Further Mathematics and gives detailed advice, supported by examples, on how schools and colleges can offer it to their students.

June 2008: Latest More Maths Grads newsletter published

More Maths Grads (mmg) aims to increase the number of students choosing to do mathematics at university. The Further Mathematics Network and mmg support one another's work and aim to work together to promote mathematics. This latest newsletter includes our recent collaborations.

May 2008: Over 4500 students attend revision days run by FM Network Centres

From late April through to early June, FM Network Centres across the country organised revision days for A level Mathematics and Further Mathematics students. Over 4500 students attended these events, which are usually held in Universities. These days are quite intense and highly focused on a specific module, but students report that they are extremely useful. Teachers are also welcome to attend and a good number do; it is often very useful for them to see an overview of a module, particularly if they have never taught it before.

April 2008: New FM Network Newsletter published

The latest FM Network Newsletter, issue 8, has been published. It can be seen here.

April 2008: Independent evaluators confirm dramatic increases in the numbers of students taking Further Mathematics

A recent report by independent evaluators of the Further Mathematics Network, the Curriculum, Evaluation and Management Centre (CEM) at the University of Durham, confirms the dramatic increases in the numbers of students taking Further Mathematics over recent years, and shows that the large majority of these increases are from the state education sector. These changes are also having a positive effect on universities, enabling more students to be better prepared to study for degrees in maths-rich subjects. View the report.

March 2008: Report on remote professional development using Elluminate

The first pilot course offering remote professional development to teachers has been offered this term. These courses will focus on subject knowledge and cover common ground from all current specifications. The FP1 course was attended by four teachers all of whom enjoyed the experience. View the report.

February 2008: United Kingdom Mathematics Trust/Further Mathematics Network Senior Team Challenge Final

On Thursday 7th February, teams made up of students from years 11, 12 and 13 in the following schools and colleges competed in London to become the first national winners of the Senior Team Challenge more...

February 2008: Adrian Oldknow paper on ICT

Adrian Oldknow has published a Becta commisioned article: It's 2008 - So what you got to offer, then? - Using ICT to put learners in touch with mathematics".

The paper can be downloaded from Adrian's website: www.adrianoldknow.org.uk

January 2008: QCA report on participation in GCE Mathematics published

A link to the report, together with its executive summary and a commentary from MEI, may be accessed via this link.

December 2007: Seventh Further Mathematics Network newsletter published

The seventh edition of the Further Mathematics Network newsletter has been published and can be downloaded from this site:
Newsletter issue 7

November 2007: Analysis of government and examinations awarding bodies' data shows the positive effects the Further Mathematics Nework is having

Analysis of data from the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) and the Department for Children Schools and Families (DCSF) shows that the Further Mathematics Network is having a very positive effect in both increased entries to AS/A level Further Mathematics and increased entries from schools and colleges in the state sector. For details please see this link.

October 2007: St George’s Medical school changes its admissions policy for Further Mathematics qualifications

Following representations from the Further Mathematics Network, St Georges' medical school has changed its admissions policy and will now accept AS Further Mathematics to contribute towards its standard offer of ‘A’, ‘A’, ‘B’ in three A levels, plus an ‘A’ in a distinct AS level. Up to now both AS and A level Further Mathematics have been excluded from St George's offers.

The text below is quoted from St George’s medical school’s admissions tutor:

"Our admissions policy requires three A levels and an additional distinct AS level …. we have agreed that a candidate offering A level Mathematics in addition to AS level Further Mathematics would be considered. However, a candidate offering two A levels in Mathematics and Further Mathematics in addition to either Chemistry or Biology would not be covering a broad enough range of subjects. There is some evidence to show that study of humanities and social sciences correlates with success in the clinical part of the medical course. Of course, very able mathematicians who wish to offer four A levels would be considered but we could not consider both Mathematics subjects as a contribution to the overall AAB grades required at A level."

Last year we achieved a similar result with Imperial College medical school. We are continuing to encourage other medical schools that exclude Further Mathematics qualifications to change their policy (many medical schools already accept Further Mathematics).

A factor that some medical schools have cited as influencing their attitude towards Further Mathematics is that they are under the mistaken impression that because such a very high proportion of AS and A level Further Mathematics candidates achieve ‘A’ grades, the qualification is easy. Independent expert analysis from the Curriculum Evaluation and Management Centre (CEM) at the University of Durham shows that Further Mathematics qualifications are actually more difficult than single AS/A level Mathematics. The reason that Further Mathematics grades are high is that an unusually large proportion of the students who take Further Mathematics are very academically able. They do get high grades in Further Mathematics, but they also get very high grades in their other subjects too.

The Further Mathematics Network aims to ensure that all medical schools will accept Further Mathematics qualifications. We have agreed a statement about Further Mathematics and medical degrees with the Council for the Heads of Medical Schools and continue to campaign to change the policies of medical schools who still do not accept at least AS Further Mathematics.

Charlie Stripp, Further Mathematics Network Programme Leader

September 2007: Sixth Further Maths Network newsletter published

The sixth edition of the Further Mathematics Network newsletter has been published and can be downloaded from this site:
Newsletter issue 6

August 2007: Further significant increases in AS and A level Further Mathematics entries

AS and A level Further Mathematics entries are up significantly again this year, representing continued success for the Further Mathematics Network in supporting and promoting Further Mathematics across England.

AS Further Mathematics numbers are up from 6292 to 7426, an 18% increase, and A level Further Mathematics Numbers are up from 7270 to 7872, an 8.3% increase. 

Since the Further Mathematics Network started-up, Further Mathematics numbers have increased dramatically year on year, resulting in overall increases of 37.6% at A level and 86.6% at AS level since 2004. These increases are far greater than for any other subject.  This is particularly remarkable for a subject that is universally recognised as being academically demanding.

For more information see: www.fmnetwork.org.uk/press_releases.php

August 2007:

Press release: A-Level Further Mathematics Celebrates Further Increases

Further mathematics is expected to be the fastest growing subject at A-level again when results are announced later this month.

The Further Mathematics Network is expecting the number of candidates sitting the exam to have increased significantly this year, meaning they have increased from 6,000 to 8,000 in just three years. The increase in numbers sitting AS-level Further Maths is even more impressive – up well over 50 per cent in the same period.

For more information see: www.fmnetwork.org.uk/press_releases.php

July 2007:

Article about the Further Mathematics Network published in Higher Education Academy journal

An article about the Further Mathematics Network has been published in the current addition of the Higher Educaton Academy's Maths, Stats and Operations Research Network journal, 'MSOR Connections'. The article may be downloaded from:

MSOR Connections article

The main aims of the article are to help keep Higher Education informed about the FM Network and to encourage universities to include Further Mathematics in their offers to students applying for maths and maths-related degrees.

March 2007:

Fifth Further Maths Network newsletter published

The fifth edition of the Further Mathematics Network newsletter has been published and can be downloaded from this site:
Newsletter issue 5

December 2006:

Fourth Further Maths Network newsletter published

The fourth edition of the Further Mathematics Network newsletter has been published and can be downloaded from this site:
Newsletter issue 4

September 2006:

Further Mathematics Network Press Conference

The Further Mathematics Network held a press conference on Thursday 7 September at the London Mathematical Society headquarters in Russell Square, London.

The press conference was held to celebrate the completion, this term, of the national Network of 46 regional Further Mathematics Centres to cover the whole of England and the dramatic increases in the numbers of students taking Further Mathematics, which are due largely to the activities of the Network.

The speakers were:

Charlie Stripp, the national Programme Leader, who gave a presentation on how the Network has developed, its purposes and what it has achieved so far;
Professor Marcus du Sautoy, of Oxford University, who emphasised the vital importance of Further Mathematics to stretch and inspire able sixth form Mathematics students and the way in which the Network was bringing sixth form Mathematics students into direct contact with universities;
Sir Peter Williams, chair of the Advisory Committee for Mathematics Education, who highlighted the economic need for far more students study Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at university. A key point he made was that Chinese universities graduated 600,000 STEM students in 2004.

The press conference was attended by students, teachers and Further Mathematics Centre Managers with direct experience of working with the Network, as well as key representatives from education and industry.

The event had an extremely positive atmosphere. There was a strong feeling that the Network is making significant progress and that the academic and business worlds fully support what we are doing.

We hope the press conference will generate useful press coverage to reinforce our two key messages.

  • AS/A-level Mathematics and Further Mathematics are vitally important subjects that lead to interesting and lucrative careers and should be taken by many more students.
  • The Further Mathematics Network now makes it possible for all A-level Mathematics students in England to study Further Mathematics, either in their own school/college or, where this is not possible, via the Further Mathematics Network.

For the full press-release and presentations see: Press Releases

Charlie Stripp

Further Mathematics Network Programme Leader

September 2006:

Third Further Maths Network newsletter published

The third edition of the Further Mathematics Network newsletter has been published and can be downloaded from this site:
Newsletter issue 3

August 2006:

Fantastic news for Further Maths: This is by far the most important story from this year's A-level results



AS and A-level Further Mathematics entries are up dramatically, thanks largely to the efforts of the Further Mathematics Network in supporting and promoting Further Mathematics across the country.

AS Further Mathematics numbers are up from 5054 to 6292, a 24.5% increase following on from a large increase last year. Over the past two years numbers have increased by a staggering 58%.

A-level Further Mathematics numbers are also substantially up, with a 22.5% increase, showing that the increase in AS numbers from last year is being translated into increased A-level numbers this year.

Another encouraging feature of the figures is that girls significantly outnumber boys among the new students.

A-level Mathematics numbers are also up by 5.8%, so the news for mathematics is excellent all round.

This is crucially important for the future of country as a whole. A high level of mathematics is needed by students going on to degrees in subjects such as engineering, sciences, computing, economics and finance, which are essential for a competitive modern economy.

For further comment please call:

Charlie Stripp
Further Mathematics Network Programme Leader, 01392 435604

Roger Porkess
Chief Executive, MEI, 01803 840343

See the related news item on BBC online:: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/5259036.stm

May 2006:

Online resources for FP1 for the AQA, Edexcel and OCR(A) specifications are now available, as well as for MEI

Please send feedback on the resources to Tom Button: tombutton@fmnetwork.org.uk

March 2006:

Second Further Maths Network newsletter published

The second edition of the Further Mathematics Network newsletter has been published and can be downloaded from this site:
Newsletter issue 2

Teaching Further Mathematics (TFM)

An exciting new CDP course is starting in April 2006.

Teaching Further Mathematics (TFM) is aimed at teachers who want to improve their subject knowledge or become familiar with the content of some of the new Further Maths modules. It will cover FP1, FP2, Numerical Methods and Differential Equations and will be studied over 4 terms. There is no expectation that you will be teaching any of these modules during the course.

For more information please see the MEI website: http://www.mei.org.uk/cpd/tfm.shtml

Universities so far involved in the Further Mathematics Network


The universities of:

Bath, Birmingham, Brighton, Bournemouth, Cambridge, Chester, Chichester, Coventry, Durham, East Anglia, Essex, Exeter, Hertford, Huddersfield, Imperial College London, Keele, Kent, Kingston, Lancaster, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Loughborough, Manchester, Newcastle, Northumbria, Oxford, Plymouth, Queen Mary College London, Reading, Royal Holloway College London, Southampton, Teesside, University College London, Warwick, West of England, Wolverhampton

are all involved with their local Further Mathematics Centres.

As the Further Mathematics Network grows, more and more universities will become involved. Our experience from the pilot project showed that students really appreciate working with their local university and we are very encouraged by the willingness of universities to work with our FM Centres.

Charlie Stripp, 02/02/06

Pilot phase results

The results from 2004 and 2005 are available:
2004 results from the pilot
2005 results from the pilot

First Further Maths Network newsletter published

The first edition of the Further Mathematics Network newsletter has been published and can be downloaded from this site:
Newsletter issue 1

Plus magazine article on the Further Maths Network

The launch of the Further Mathematics Network is featured in the latest edition of plus magazine.
The article can be seen at http://plus.maths.org/latestnews/sep-dec05/further/index.html
Plus is an internet magazine published five times a year which aims to introduce readers to the beauty and the practical applications of mathematics.

Schedule of courses for FMC Managers

The schedule of training courses for Further Mathematics Centre Managers 2005-2006 has been published. The schedule can be viewed at www.fmnetwork.org.uk/files/FMN023.pdf

FM Centres are beginning to organise Revision Days for January Examinations.

For a full list of confirmed Revision Days follow the Revision Days link in the National menu.

The first training session for Further Mathematics Centre Managers was held at the University of Warwick on 16th and 17th September.

Well over 20 of the new Centres were represented at this very well-received event.

Over 20 Centres starting during the Autumn term.

We are very pleased to announce that the following Centres are to commence during the Autumn term of 2005:
Berkshire
Birmingham
Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole
Buckinghamshire
Cambridgeshire
Cheshire and Warrington
Coventry and Warwickshire
Devon
Essex
Greater Manchester
Hampshire & Isle of Wight
Hertfordshire
Kent and Medway
Lancashire and Cumbria
Norfolk
North Leicestershire
Northumberland
South Leics/Northants
Suffolk
Sussex
The Black Country
West of England
Wiltshire

The rest are likely to commence during 2006

Please keep checking this site for up-to-date information.

FM Network Newsletters

Newsletter archive: