Since 2017, Rachel and Matt have been involved in research investigating how provision of this new and important post-16 mathematics qualification has been developing across England. We are interested in the reasons why it is succeeding in certain institutions, and the barriers to its success in others.

An initial research project, The early take-up of Core Mathematics: successes and challenges, was funded by the Nuffield Foundation and hosted at the University of Leeds between 2017 and 2020.

An impact project followed, funded by the UKRI/ESRC Impact Acceleration Account at the Leeds Social Science Institute (2020-2021). Resources, including short videos and briefing documents, were produced for teachers, students, parents, and higher education admissions personnel. Our partners in this work were the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP), the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM), and the film maker Paul Brannigan.

Rachel continues to be involved with post-16 mathematics and teacher professional development, as part of the evaluation team at the NCETM.