Maths school

Features of maths schools

Maths free schools serve 16-to-19-year-old pupils with strong mathematical aptitude. They were created as part of the government's Industrial Strategy to encourage highly skilled graduates in STEM-dependent sectors. Their aim is to prepare the most mathematically able pupils for mathematics-related disciplines at highly selective universities and for mathematically intensive careers. Maths schools also function as centres of excellence, supporting mathematics teaching in their surrounding area and contributing to their sponsor university's widening participation commitments.

Although free schools are normally barred from academic selection, maths schools are exempt and may select students. They are not required to follow the School Admissions Code or the School Admission Appeal Code. Most maths schools occupy refurbished repurposed buildings. Each is run by an academy trust, sponsored by a university and sometimes also by a local sixth form college or multi-academy trust.

They receive an additional £350,000 per year from central government. Their curricula are developed through partnerships with sponsor universities. All students study A-Levels in mathematics and further mathematics, usually alongside physics, chemistry, biology or computer science. Maths schools are required to deliver significant outreach work, developed with local schools and colleges, that prioritises disadvantaged students, especially girls, and prepares potential students for advanced mathematics study.

These outreach programmes are complemented by maths hubs, which are regional leadership networks for mathematical improvement.

History

Maths schools were first proposed in 2010 by Dominic Cummings, then an adviser to Education Secretary Michael Gove, drawing on the model of Russian schools founded by mathematician Andrey Kolmogorov. The coalition government announced plans for twelve such schools over three years the following year. The first two opened in 2014: King's College London Mathematics School and Exeter Mathematics School. In January 2017, Prime Minister Theresa May called for a maths school in every British city, backed by £170 million.

Later that year, Chancellor Philip Hammond allocated each school an annual £350,000, and Schools Minister Nick Gibb urged universities to establish them. In September 2019, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced nine more specialist maths schools, with four already in development in Cambridge, Lancaster, Liverpool, and Surrey. The 2019 Conservative Party Conference confirmed eleven schools, one per English region, including one in Durham.

In 2020, Rishi Sunak’s budget set aside £7 million for these schools. That year also saw a second London maths school announced in July, the University of Liverpool Maths School opening in September, and a Leeds maths school announced in November. Further schools have opened since 2022. However, plans for Durham and Nottingham were paused in October 2024 during a free schools review; the pause was lifted in December 2025, but no new opening dates were set.