Welcome to The Future of Maths Education series. This is the first article in a 4-part series exploring the biggest takeaways from my summer reflections. You can find Part 2 here, Part 3 here, and Part 4 here.
At the start of the summer I was immersed in this exact question across four incredible events and over the next four blog posts, I’m sharing my biggest takeaways, exploring key insights on curriculum reform, classroom AI, and social mobility.
Unlocking student success in GCSE maths remains one of education’s defining challenges. I recently had the privilege of attending my first Festival of Education (frequently described as the “Glastonbury of Education”) and it completely lived up to the hype, helped by the free ice cream! It was an incredible environment to discuss how we can actively reform and improve maths education for the future.
I was thrilled to contribute to the discussion by speaking on two fantastic panels:
Panel 1 (with Pearson): Reforming GCSEs: Learning Lessons from Beyond Year 11. Alongside Noni Csogor(Sixth Form College Association) and Jonny Diamond (Luminate Education Group), and hosted by Katy Lewis (Pearson), we explored how the post-16 sector holds vital answers. When the worlds of school learning, further education and employment intersect, we discover exactly where curriculum flexibility needs to go further to unlock student potential.
Panel 2 (with AQA): The Future of Our Maths Curriculum: Challenge, Change & Opportunities. Hosted by Nicola Woodford-Smith (AQA), I joined the brilliant Bobby Seagull (Maths teacher and broadcaster) and Christian Friday (TKAT Trust). We are operating at a pivotal moment of systemic curriculum and assessment reform. It was inspiring to engage with an audience so deeply passionate about building a richer, more accessible maths learning experience for young people.
A massive thank you to the teams at AQA and Pearson for hosting these critical sessions, and to my fellow panellists for such an energising exchange of ideas!
IN MY NEXT POST – PART 2: I’m shifting from speaker to learner. I’ll be sharing a profound takeaway from a roundtable discussion at The Royal Society regarding the invisible presence of mathematics across the wider school curriculum.
#FestivalOfEducation #MathsEducation #GCSEMaths #CurriculumReform #EducationPolicy #TeachingAndLearning
Do The Maths Thing 