Outreach to schools: a good practice guide

This guide arises from the More Maths Grads project, and it is intended to show what has worked in the project. It provides some evidence of that success in the form of comments from students and their teachers, and gives examples of what might be done. It shares experiences of how to find suitable partners and engage the audience, and suggestions of sources of materials and help. Individual teachers will need to decide in the light of their own needs and circumstances what would work best. This guide is not intended to be prescriptive. Different materials, styles and presenters will appeal to different audiences or to those in different circumstances; what is a success in one situation may be less beneficial in another. The More Maths Grads project was funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and delivered by teams in three areas, the West Midlands (led by Coventry University), East London (Queen Mary, University of London), and Yorkshire & the Humber (University of Leeds), during 2007–9, while Sheffield Hallam University undertook a national study to assess the higher education curriculum and to try to increase the scope of mathematics courses to allow real choice for a wide range of students.

Acknowledgments This guide was written by David Stirling, with very substantial help and guidance from More Maths Grads officers, Farzana Aslam, Vivien Easson, Ruth Holland, Hazel Kendrick, Matt Parker, Zia Rahman, Ewan Russell and National Project Manager Makhan Singh, and additional guidance from Lis Goodwin.