St Mary’s new Deputy Head shares expertise with Maths4Girls at House of Lords
St Mary’s new Deputy Head (Academic), Dr. Patrick Wallace, met fellow education experts at the House of Lords this week to discuss the Maths4Girls Initiative and share his thoughts on how the programme can reach its goal of embedding maths into the hearts and minds of one million girls.
Dr. Wallace joined event host the Rt Hon Lord Knight of Weymouth, and other leading experts in the field, at a lunch to discuss strategies for the roll-out the programme. Topics included: how best to inspire girls to excel at maths; ways to raise awareness of the careers that maths can open up; and how to debunk the myth that maths isn’t for girls.
Maths4Girls is a free-to-schools initiative available throughout the UK, which aims to encourage more girls to continue maths beyond their GCSEs. Launched in 2019 by Mina Gerowin and Founders4Schools, the programme encourages educators to invite role models, who work within maths-based sectors, into the classroom to inspire students to take up the subject. After the success of an initial prototype project, 200 schools have now adopted Maths4Girls. This initial uptake is expected to benefit around 23,000 girls, who will be inspired by around 1,200 role models who have stepped forward to volunteer their time over the past two years.
Commenting, Dr. Wallace said:
“At St Mary’s we’ve worked hard to create a culture where all subjects are ‘for girls’ and students are encouraged to pursue their interests with no academic path off limits. From the minute our girls walk through the door, we aim to ignite them with a passion for all subjects – with extra emphasis on Maths and Science; subjects that girls have historically been less keen to pursue. The Maths4Girls Initiative is a fantastic way to get inspiring female role models, who use maths every day, into the classroom to help students discover the wide range of employment opportunities available to them through this subject.”
Maths4Girls has the endorsement of the Maths Anxiety Trust, the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP), The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) and the Department for Education.
Learn more about Maths4Girls.
Learn more about Maths at St Mary's.