Evaluation of ContinYou/Deutsche Bank-funded maths clubs

Deutsche Bank and ContinYou have worked together since 2002 in developing a network of Year 7 maths clubs in (at the height of the funding) 24 London secondary schools. In November 2005, finite Research was commissioned to carry out an evaluation of the impact of the maths clubs in 6 schools for whom funding for the clubs had been extended into the 2005/ 06 academic year. This evaluation was carried out between January and July 2006.

A series of face-to-face interviews was undertaken in each school, along with group discussions with pupils (both those who attended a maths club and those who did not). Head teachers, maths club co-ordinators, maths teachers, as well as other staff and teachers were all represented among the population of respondents. Parents, too, were surveyed on their views.

Without exception, respondents felt that the maths clubs had been a success. The most common criteria for success appeared generally to be the enjoyment of the pupils, the opportunities the clubs afforded for social inclusion, and the greater enthusiasm the clubs sometimes generated for maths as a subject itself.