Overview

Our Maths Student Community (MSC) is a rolling programme; once enrolled, student remain members of the Community until Year 11, if they would like to.

Our aim is to bring together and inspire able mathematics students from across Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset, forming a community of learners who will work together, share ideas, attend master-classes and receive mentoring.

Teachers frequently identify students within their settings who stand out from the crowd and who can find themselves working in isolation on mathematics that is beyond that of their peers.  Our aim is to bring these students together, to enable them to work with others who are similarly able, to provide stimuli which will deepen and broaden their appreciation of mathematics and its related fields, and to support and encourage their development as problem-solving mathematicians.

It is our intention to support students throughout their secondary school career, regardless of whether or not they decide to apply for a place in our sixth form.

How it works

Students joining the MSC participate in a series of enrichment days at Exeter Maths School, supplemented by a couple of online sessions!

During the enrichment days students will take part in masterclasses and workshops.  They will be introduced to mathematics beyond the normal curriculum and will have the opportunity to develop their problem solving.

How to join

This programme is teacher nominated only; we cannot accept applications from students directly. Please email events@exeterms.ac.uk to make an enquiry about a late nomination.

If you are already part of the MSC, you will automatically be moved up into the next year group, year on year.

What is MESME?

MESME stands for: Mathematics Education for Social Mobility and Excellence. MESME exists to support students from all backgrounds to achieve mathematical excellence, so that they can go on to have a greater and richer range of future personal, employment and economic choice.

MESME is launching Maths Circles across the country for students aged 11-16 and is working in partnership with Exeter Maths School to support the South West region.

What are MESME trying to achieve?

MESME’s target is that by 2035 there will be double the number of PhD students in the mathematical sciences at a UK University. They intend for this to increase to include a representative proportion, at the minimum, of students from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds who went to school in the UK.

Along the way MESME intends to enrich the mathematical experiences of everyone who participates in the programme, enabling them to enjoy mathematics and identify as a mathematician.

What is a Maths Circle?

Maths Circles are designed to support able Maths students to develop their mathematical thinking, reasoning skills and problem-solving. Expect a selection of problems/tasks and co-operative activities from across the KS3 curriculum and beyond!

What are the intended outcomes?

That students can:

• See beyond a ‘process-focused’ interpretation of and response to mathematical questions
• Explain their choice of method
• Understand, generate and justify mathematical claims
• Co-operate and exchange ideas with each other in a constructive way

Format

Working in a group of 6, students will be assigned a mentor who will work with the group online for an hour a week, over 20 weeks (dates can be found in the attached document or online overview below).

Within this 20 week period, we are aiming to host 3 face-to-face days (also noted). On these days students will meet and get to know others who are taking part, along with some of the mentors. They’ll be helped to get setup on Microsoft Teams, ready for the online sessions. Most importantly, they’ll work on some exciting maths together!

Who to nominate?

We would like to invite you to nominate up to four Year 7 students to attend this programme, with a particular emphasis on students who are eligible for FSM or Pupil Premium. The funding for this programme is dependant upon at least one third of participants coming from disadvantaged backgrounds and we are seeking your support in meeting this quota with your teacher nominations

 Though every effort is made to accommodate all student nominations, the programme is likely to be over-subscribed and so not all nominated students will gain a place.

Our current oversubscription criteria is (in priority order):

• A place for all students in care and those eligible for Free School Meals
• A place for students eligible for Pupil Premium funding
• A place for students who live in a deprived area according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (based on the 4^th and 5^th quintiles)
• Gender balance
• A place for students from schools with low progress scores
• Parity between Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset
• Engagement with schools that have not previously nominated students for events
• Parity between all other schools

Please note that it is our intention that students join us in Year 7 and remain on the programme until Year 11.

This programme is teacher nominated only; we cannot accept applications from students directly.  Please email events@exeterms.ac.uk to make an enquiry about a late nomination.