Pupils working on a maths problem at the maths enrichment day on campus in autumn 2012.

Work by the Mathematics department to inspire pupils at a local school has been featured as a case study in a new publication.

Shoreham Academy in West Sussex is part of a group of schools called United Learning, which has just brought out a booklet called Bringing out the Best in Everyone to illustrate good practice in some of the schools that belong to the group.

The case study for Shoreham Academy looks at various projects over the last two years to inspire its pupils to study mathematics at degree level.

In March 2012 high-achieving Year 11 students from the Academy attended a full day of mathematics revision at Sussex, led by second-year mathematics undergraduates. The pupils also received a campus tour, giving them an insight into what university life is like and adding to their motivation to achieve excellent results.

The pupils provided very positive feedback about the revision day, with many reporting that they felt more confident about taking their maths exam. One said: “I didn’t realise how much I knew until today.”

The Academy is also participating in the University’s First Generation Scholar scheme, which seeks to support students who do not come from a family with a history of higher education. Two mathematics undergraduates from Sussex, second-year student Neil Sherborne and third-year Jaskiran Mangat, are currently visiting the Academy every week to tutor a group of such pupils.

Tutoring is conducted in small groups and focuses on helping students to make progress in the areas they find most challenging.

Academy student Ismael Meah said: “It was good because they helped us with the questions we could not answer and how to answer exam questions effectively and correctly.”

Another student, Shannelle Lurring, added: “The tutor that spent time with me was very helpful and easy to get on with. She was amazing at maths and was determined to improve our maths for the future.”

Year 10 pupils also had the opportunity to experience university-level teaching at Sussex. At an enrichment day in autumn 2012 (organized by the national Further Mathematics Support Programme), they worked with mathematics tutors, learning about the real-life implications of mathematics and logic. They also took part in a maths quiz and were given 20 reasons to continue studying mathematics to a higher level.

Karen Tucker, Tutoring and Mentoring Coordinator in the Widening Participation team at Sussex, says: “This case study about the Widening Participation team’s collaboration with Shoreham Academy is a great example of our outreach work and campus taster activities at Sussex, which every year give thousands of students a taste of university life.”

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