Statistics and data on mathematics education

The following data was compiled by the Mathematics Promotion Unit, a joint initiative between the London Mathematical Society and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications with the aim of highlighting the public profile of mathematics, in particular to policy makers and the press.

The initial sheet (sometimes more than one) contains raw data. Each subsequent sheet shows trends, over a number of years, derived from this initial data. There are tables showing the relevant, summarised data, then charts directly below. The data source is located at the bottom of each sheet.

For Undergraduate and Teaching data, pivot tables and charts have been used, generated using the raw data on the initial sheets. These can be altered to show the required statistics by clicking on the arrows on the table/chart and highlighting the necessary box.


Notes on Scottish pre and post 16 data

- the Standard Grade qualification was phased in to replace the old O Grade over a number of years. In mathematics, many schools stuck with the O Grade until it was finally phased out, so data prior to 1989/90 may be somewhat unrepresentative.

- in recent years, there has been a dip in Standard Grade entries as more and more schools are changing to Access, Intermediate 1 and Intermediate 2 in Secondary 4. These newer qualifications were originally intended for pupils in Secondary 5 or 6 who were not eligible to sit the Higher in a subject, and they were used solely for that purpose for some years. In Mathematics, the syllabuses are so similar (Access 3 equivalent to SG 5/6, Intermediate 1 to SG 3/4, Intermediate 2 to SG 1/2) that schools are beginning to standardise to using the new qualifications for all years.

- Certificate of Sixth Year Studies (CSYS) in Mathematics consisted of five papers, which were all individually certificated. Candidates were therefore presented for a variable number of papers, usually up to 3. We are unable to ascertain if the data we have is for the total number of candidates or papers sat. The replacement Advanced Higher Mathematics award is certificated as a whole, so these figures are likely to be for individuals.


Documents are in Excel, unless stated otherwise. All open in a new window.

Pre-16 (1986 - 2006)

Post-16 (2000 – 2007)

Undergraduate Applications and Acceptances (2002 – 2006)

Undergraduate Numbers (2002 – 2006)

Teacher Training (2000 – 2006)

For assistance or queries about this data, please contact Caroline Davis at the MPU (caroline.davis@lms.ac.uk).

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