Maths and Science: Every Little Helps!

Posted by: Graeme Hall Oct 21, 03:45 pm Comment on this articlePermlink

Driving to work this morning I was astonished and delighted to hear a piece on the BBC Today programme.

The number of students opting to study Maths and Science at university has increased!

The HEFCE “rescue plan” is credited with this increase.

£350 million has been invested to support vulnerable or strategically important subjects including science, technology, engineering, mathematics and modern languages.

A £29 million programme targeted at Maths and Science school projects has been piloted to raise interest and improve accessibility.

This is supported by a further £100 million to sustain high-cost and vulnerable science provision resulting in a 7% increase in students studying Maths, 3.5% for Chemistry and 1.3% for Physics.

Welcome news and a great example of just what can be achieved by concentrated effort.

All of this is on the eve of the West London LLN conference Maths Standards – No More Passing the Buck. Our event will provide practical information on the issues that affect vocational learners’ who struggle with maths.

As the advertisement says “Every little helps”.

Maths Standards – No More Passing the Buck.

Your Comments

  1. Good news and I very much appreciate your blog but it would have been better if you head READ the news on a train (or at work, after cycling in) rather than listening to it while DRIVING to work. As educators we should all set an example on sustainable transport. Every Little Helps!

    Posted by: Stefano Casalotti · Linking London Lifelong Learning Network Oct 26, 08:46 am

  2. About 4 years ago I asked a final year dgree group to tell me how you would work out the surface area of a rectangle. This was the first stage of a carrying capacity calculation, however the whole group (approx 50 students) ws unable to tell me the process involved in working out this simple calculation.

    Hopfully this resurgence of interest in these ‘core’ subjects will seek to build our students knowldege in these essentail subjects.

    Posted by: Matt Cooper · Lecturer EHWLC Oct 25, 04:56 am

  3. We at Aston are setting up a new Interdisciplinary Degree programme in partnership with Newman College of HE . This will allow students who are currently studying Maths,Chemistry etc the opportunity to complete their teacher training as an integral part of a new four year BSc degree.

    Posted by: Jim Rimmer · Aston University Oct 24, 10:26 am

  4. Our UCAS applications are up by 25 per cent overall and intake by over 5 per cent (except for foundation degrees, which are down by 50 per cent).

    Interestingly we are offering our single modules as short courses for the first time (so its actually too early to tell) but yet over 65 per cent is for first-year maths and stats modules.

    Posted by: Robert Mellor · Kingston University Oct 24, 10:24 am

  5. Marvellous news. It must be the first time in decades that science/maths has become more popular.

    Posted by: Colin Lomas · ILT and Professional Development Staff Trainer Ealing, Hammersmith & West London College Oct 24, 10:08 am

  6. Excellent news! Student enrolments in my Department are continuing to grow which is very promising indeed.

    Posted by: Trushar Adatia · London Metropolitan University Oct 24, 10:05 am

  7. 100% agree! Glad to see some serious thought and resource is put into this. As a University it is our duty to ensure we can deliver the promise.

    Posted by: Saboohi Famili · Head of Future Skills TVU Oct 21, 04:13 pm

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