In Scotland, mathematics lessons are in danger of becoming extinct. A recruitment crisis, and a systemic indifference are conspiring to make maths a thing of the past.

Environmental Factors

I’ve written before about recruitment. We are repeatedly missing targets for new maths PGDEs. And the targets are unambitious in the first place. In 2024 we only managed to recruite 75 students. We also have the EIS ballot to reduce workload. I think every teacher reading this will agree we need to reduce workload, but we must be clear-eyed about what this means for mathematics. We would need to either cut the amount of maths taught, or be forced to hire more maths teachers.

We’re already stretched to the limit. Hiring primary school teachers to take S1-S3s is commonplace. Job adverts go unanswered. Maths lessons are pushed out of the timetable.

For some people in education in Scotland, this is seen as a good thing. “Get Hayward Done” is the cry.

The view is that instead of learning mathematics, delivered by an expert teacher, students can learn through working through projects. And forget those pesky exams - let’s mark them internally.

“Get Hayward Done” - borrowing heavily from Boris Johnson’s “Get Brexit Done.” I look forward to reading the “oven-ready” Hayward implementation plan.

Nearly extinct

Let me paint a picture of what will happen if no action is taken. Recruitment won’t pick up. Schools will need to rebalance their timetables so maths teachers only teach senior phase. The Broad General Education (BGE) phase will be taught by non-experts, with students guided through projects with mixed success. Schools in less affluent areas will get a lower quality of maths education- hit harder by poor recruitment, and this increases student apathy.

National 5 results nosedive. Quality teaching in the BGE has reduced and the knock-on effect is plain to see. The exams become easier, but grade boundaries still hit the floor. The attainment gap increases.

Exams are scrapped in the name of equity.

Numeracy now is awarded through a Hayward project. Schools aspire to have every student achieve a level 5. Those aspirations are not subject to external scrutiny. The Education Secretary is able to tell parliament about how a record number of young people are achieving in maths.

Higher still exists. The brightest students in S1 are put onto the Higher track and still receive maths teacher input. Many maths teachers make money on the side tutoring for Highers - the market for it has grown!

The attainment gap for Higher is huge. The kids who are tutored tend to have wealthier parents. But don’t worry - there’s now a level 6 project that students seem to do really well at. Politicians are therefore judged positively on their tackling of the attainment gap.

We’re all responsible

I’d love to blame politicians for this mess. But the truth is we’re all responsible here. We’ve failed to defend mathematics as a subject.

Maths is often pitched as a utility. It’s the useful subject. It’s valued by workplaces, it can be used to solve problems. This is all true, but this isn’t why we teach the subject.

More often I see maths is pitched as a piece of paper. Achieving National 5 will open doors. A Higher Maths is needed for the university course. I think this thinking has lead to so much procedural learning in the maths classroom.

There is a sentiment I see far too often, which is “Our kids can’t.” The view that our kids, in our particular school, are not capable of understanding maths.

“Just show them the process - it’s all they need.”

“She isn’t a Nat 5 kid. That will do for Nat 4.”

“They won’t understand what the word “operation” means.”

If, as maths teachers, we aren’t in the room to teach students maths… then what exactly are we there to do? We are a profession who have forgotten our purpose.

National 5 is too procedural and has promoted bad teaching. National 4 is corrosive, and had gutted our BGE curriculum. We must reclaim our classrooms.

Last Chance to Save

Why do we teach mathematics? Do I believe that teaching maths helps the workforce? Do I believe that a massive improvement in maths education would positively affect our GDP? Yes. (For the politicians reading - keep that money coming!)

But this isn’t why. And I can’t say things any better than Mark McCourt.

“Mathematics is more than a set of tools for economic utility or a series of hoops students jump through to meet societal expectations. It is a way of thinking, a profound human endeavour, and an intellectual pursuit that shapes our understanding of the world and ourselves. … By defending mathematics as an intellectual pursuit, we restore its rightful place in education: not as a means to an end but as a discipline that transforms minds and grows thinkers who can tackle the most profound challenges of our time. Mathematics is not just for the marketplace—it is for the human mind.”

To save mathematics education, we must:

  • Teach mathematics in a way that promotes student understanding, not merely memorising procedures;
  • Insist that external assessments are introduced for National 4, and resist the Hayward reforms;
  • Accept that to make maths recruitment work, we are going to have to make some difficult decisions. This either means paying maths teachers more, or changing how we recruit teachers. I make some proposals here.

If any of this blog post resonates with you, please come and work with me. DMs are open.

Maths teaching has always been a difficult beast. But if the Mountain Gorilla can be saved from extinction, maybe there’s some hope left.

Photo credit: Photo by Leila Boujnane.