Mathematics after 16: the State of Play, Challenges and Ways Ahead

This report, from the Nuffield Foundation, focuses on the crucial period between GCSEs and entrance to higher education, and how mathematical, statistical and quantitative skills develop during this period.

The report has three aims: to outline the current state of play in post-16 mathematics and the explanations for it; to describe a number of challenges in this area and assess how government policy attempts to address them and to pose a number of ways in which these challenges might be addressed, including through work funded and undertaken by the Nuffield Foundation.

The report begins by analysing the proportion of post-16 students studying any maths in different countries, the proportion of students studying advanced level mathematics and shows the rise in the uptake of advanced mathematics and further mathematics in the period 2003 to 2013. The relative difficulty of different A-level subjects is discussed and the correlation between GCSE performance and performance at A-level is explored. The proposals for the weighting of mathematical skills in subjects other than mathematics, the demands from higher education and the challenge of meeting the need for mathematics teachers are all considered.

The report concludes by suggesting some possible ways forward to meet the demands highlighted in the first half of the report.