Commercial specialists support maths school partnership

Imperial and a London sixth form are launching a Maths School that will offer female and BAME students a chance to learn from leading mathematicians.

Imperial has received approval from Department of Education to set up a specialist Maths School for sixth form students studying maths, further maths, and a range of other subjects in partnership with Woodhouse College, a sixth form college in north London. The School will focus on attracting more female students, students from BAME groups and disadvantaged and under-represented communities.

Project Outcomes

The Imperial College London Mathematics School has proceeded to the pre-opening phase, setting up new bodies to govern the school within a new Multi Academy Trust. The school could potentially be open for 16-19-year-olds studying maths, further maths and other science A-levels in autumn 2023.  The school is planned to be located on the current Woodhouse College campus in North Finchley dependent upon obtaining planning permission after local consultation, and plans to enrol an initial 60 students, rising over time to 100 students per year.

Professor Maggie Dallman, Vice President (International) and Associate Provost (Academic Partnerships) at Imperial, said: ‘I’m very excited by the partnership with Woodhouse College in developing this Maths specialist school. At the beginning of the process it was extremely helpful to be able to turn to the Enterprise division for their support, guidance and experience. More practically, their document writing skills which we needed to complete the initial paperwork was a real bonus.’

Enterprise role

Imperial’s Enterprise Division has supported Imperial’s first ever strategic partnership of this sort to establish the Maths School, which aims to become a beacon for high attainment in Maths. Importantly, it will increase the number of maths students going to leading universities such as Imperial from disadvantaged or under-represented backgrounds. 

The Academic and Technology Ventures team within Enterprise first became involved in the project in 2018 supporting the selection process of a suitable partner school and initial progression of the opportunity. The team then developed a Memorandum of Understanding and subsequently a collaboration agreement to capture the two parties’ requirements and ‘red lines’, along with Terms of Reference for the Steering Board and input to the final governance structure of the Multi Academy Trust as part of the governance and finance working group.

Andrew Tebbutt, Director of Student Recruitment and Outreach at Imperial, said: “it was so reassuring to be supported by the Enterprise Division in establishing this new initiative for the College.  Their expertise and knowledge were critical for establishing governance models and laying the foundations for a new and exciting partnership with the aim of widening participation”

Inspiring future mathematicians 

Pupils and teachers will get the chance to work with some of the world’s leading mathematicians and other academics, as well as current Imperial students, as Imperial and Woodhouse work to improve social mobility and diversity in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths). 

Thanks to the university’s connections, students will gain valuable insights from the very latest technology and science developments. They will also gain insights from the workplace and from university alumni and will build sought-after skills for future careers in sectors like technology, computing, and financial industries. 

Pictured at top: Students from the Imperial mA*ths project - another Imperial programme for sixth form students. Photo: Fergus Burnett