PRESIDENT'S REPORT

This President's Report forms part of the Association's annual report, but occasionally strays into activities of the previous year. Because the President's term of office is preceded by a year on Council as President-designate, most Presidents begin their work a little in advance. Since there is no provision for a President-designate's report, this preliminary work is described below.

As President-elect, I raised the need for a new development plan for the Association. This was readily accepted in Council and a sub-committee was formed to draft the plan. After much discussion, a plan emerged with a number of interconnected sections. These were:

The plan is too extensive to realise all the objectives in one year, but considerable progress has been made. The brief report that follows is based on the opening section of my Presidential Address, given in Lancaster at the Annual Conference.

One theme of the development plan, appearing in several sections, is the need to employ more specialist staff. The Association now employs:

• a team of administrative staff providing a full-time service to members;
• Ros Hyde, a part-time Professional Development Officer;
• Janet Powell, a freelance worker selling advertising space in journals;
• John Day, a marketing consultant, helping us to increase membership.

However, the Association continues to operate on the basis of a great deal of voluntary effort from members. With voluntary effort we continue to:

• publish a range of journals and books;
• work in teaching committee groups;
• run the Primary Mathematics Challenge;
• represent, campaign and consult;
• inform members (website & MA News);
• run local branch activities;
• organise the Annual Conference.

The development plan sets out a vision for the MA. The Association wants to be:

• increasing our influence on government and other bodies;
• thinking pro-actively in relation to developments in mathematics teaching;
• reacting swiftly to new developments;
• giving more support to mathematics teachers and co-ordinators at all levels;
• offering more web-based services.

Of course, any increase in activity costs money. With more resources, we could:

• provide a wider range of services to members;
• issue timely guidance to members on how to implement (or resist) change;
• maintain more working groups;
• publish more classroom resources and other materials;
• organise more courses and conferences.

The Association therefore faces a dilemma:

• to increase our resources and improve our services we need to attract more members;
• to attract more members we need to offer better services, which need more resources.

Guided by the development plan, the Association is now working for the future.

• We are investing in recruitment to boost our membership.
• We continue to develop our services and increase our influence.
• We plan to appoint a mathematics/teaching professional as Chief Executive.
• This will produce a step-change in our services, influence and membership.

As President, I have been active in a number of campaigns on behalf of the Association. Copies of the letters I have written were placed on the website. Briefly, the campaigns have focused on:

• the importance of 'extension for added depth' to replace acceleration and early examination entry for able students;
• the need to promote AS/A2 Further Mathematics as a valid way for students to 'broaden' their study in the Sixth Form;
• addressing problems with the A level papers set by NICCEA, the Northern Ireland examination board.

The Association has benefited particularly from the efforts of Tony Gardiner on the first campaign and Peter Thomas on the other two. I want to place on record my thanks to them and others who have worked on these and other issues.

As President, I have represented the Association at meetings with Anita Straker (National Numeracy Strategy), Michael Barber (Standards and Effectiveness Unit), the DfEE (in relation to the 'able students' issue), QCA (for various purposes) and NAMA (on the role of subject associations). I have also spoken on the subject of 'Growing Mathematics Teachers' at the Cardiff Branch and a teachers' conference at King's College, London. I have been able to write on a number of issues in the Times Educational Supplement, which now has a major Mathematical Association input to its Mathematics Curriculum Specials.

I attended ICME 9, in Japan, with support from the Association and other sources. The congress raised some important issues, which will help inform the Association's thinking.

• We need to reconsider the mathematical preparation needed for teaching.
• We need a major professional development effort to improve mathematical knowledge and teaching quality among our existing work force.
• Teachers need to be encouraged to 'read around' their subject and take more responsibility for their own professional development.
• We need to consider the effect of the research assessment exercise on the current direction in mathematics education.
• Mathematics educationists need to make their educational theories and research findings more accessible to teachers.

Some of these issues are beginning to be addressed, but there is still a long way to go.

To be elected President of The Mathematical Association is a tremendous honour. I was immensely proud to be elected and found the position both challenging and highly rewarding. I now look forward to a rest!

Steve Abbott (President)

COUNCIL

I am honoured to be giving my first Annual Report. Over the year from April 2000, Council has worked hard on behalf of our members to promote the Association and provide quality service. Some individuals have laboured long and hard for the Association, well beyond the call of duty. A modified pattern of Council meetings was adopted, namely meetings in June, September, December and March. This system meant there were two meetings between summer and Christmas rather than two between Christmas and Easter. On the whole, the pattern has worked well and is to be continued. Due to the fuel crisis in September, many members were unable to get to that meeting. As Sue Sanders outlined in her report last year, we have tried very hard to provide the membership with information about the activities of the various strands of the Association as well as of Council. The Website has been a major source of information and its Webmaster, Peter Thomas, deserves to be singled out for his efforts.

Standing Committee (which consists of the Chair of Council, the President, the Secretary, the Treasurer and one Council member without office, Trish Morgan) has met three times to deal with business between Council meetings. Given the amount of ongoing activity, it was felt that face-to-face meetings were needed and we should all be grateful to the members of Standing Committee for giving up even more weekend time.

Two particular initiatives deserve special mention. One, Continuing Professional Development, was mentioned in last year's report. Ros has continued to work hard and be very busy. We have benefited from a number of contracts, most notably the T-cubed work from Texas Instruments. The various projects have provided enough income to cover the cost of employing a Development Officer. The second major activity is the part-time employment of John Day, who is a professional marketeer. This initiative is part of the Development Plan pushed forward by Steve Abbott. John has been very busy examining ways in which we can update the image of the Association and increase both our membership and influence. His initial contract was for six months, from November 2000 to April 2001, but Council has decided to extend this for a further six months to allow John to finish some of the recruitment activities and advise us on other areas such as publications and the Primary Mathematics Challenge. As well has initiating activities, John has also been able to provide a number of Headquarters staff with valuable insight into marketing methods which will be of value after his contract has expired.

As well as being active within the UK, the Association is continuing to try to expand abroad with an ideal opportunity being ICME 9 in Japan in July/August 2000. The MA had a splendid presence there with its stall being staffed full-time (unlike many other groups who relied on delegates to volunteer for a slot). As well as providing the opportunity for the thousands at ICME to see our range of materials, we produced a special CD ROM "just for ICME", which included a great range of samples from books and journals which delegates could browse over once they got home.

Headquarters has continued to operate very well. Marcia Murray, the Office Manager, has been with us for nearly two years now and, I hope, is beginning to feel much more comfortable in her job although new aspects continue to appear. Marcia works a five-day week as does Sally Bryan (the Membership Secretary) and Anne-Marie Brown. Linda Medhurst, now fully integrated into the role of bookkeeper, works a four-day week as does Ann Goddard, and Graham Richards continues to work three days for the Association. The building has not been neglected with appropriate maintenance being carried out. The main meeting place, the Jim Gray Room, has been redecorated, fitted with new windows and given improved access to the main body of the building. It is our hope that we can increase our income by letting the room to other groups for meetings.

Another area of activity which is definitely part of our heritage, and hopefully will be part of the near future, is our Library. After some years of relative peace and quiet, a new lease of life is being stimulated by Mike Price. He hopes that we can catalogue our collection and provide information about numerous rare items which we own.

It is sad to report that in the relatively recent past, four former presidents of the Association have passed away. Sir William McCrea and Lady Bertha Jeffreys both died in 1999, Mary Bradburn early in 2000 and Peter Reynolds in September 2000. The MA owes a debt to people such as these who have devoted much time and effort to it.

I now have to report on changes to Council. At last year's AGM, Steve Abbott became President and Sue Sanders President-Designate, with John Berry moving, inevitably, to Immediate-Past President. There were three new 'Members without Office', Charlie Stripp, Bill Brakes and Malcolm Sanders. During the past year, Bob Francis has stepped down as Chair of Branches, and Sue Jennings has relinquished the position of Chair of Professional Development. They have been replaced by Paul Harris and Adrian Oldknow respectively. At this meeting, we say farewell to Peter Bailey and thank him for all his work as Chair of the Publications Committee. David Carter and Malcolm Sanders have indicated their wish to give up membership of Council. However, Council is to lose the services of its longest serving member, Roy Ashley. Roy has been on Council for some ten years and during that time has served it very well in a number of roles, most noticeably as President during 1995-1996 and latterly as Association Secretary. We need to thank Roy and the others who are departing from Council for their work on our behalf and to wish their successors every success.

Bill Richardson (Chair of Council)

BRANCHES COMMITTEE

There were two meetings of the Branches Committee this year, one at the end of the Exeter conference and another in November at headquarters in Leicester. The main change which has taken place is that Paul Harris has replaced Bob Francis as the chair of the Committee.

The Association has a number of active branches, each of which puts on an excellent programme of meetings and events for their local members. Typically, these include talks for sixth form students on a wide range of mathematical topics; talks and discussions for teachers; and mathematical quizzes for students. In addition, a number of branches are involved with organising Royal Institution Master Classes which are often over-subscribed.

During the year, there was some success in restarting the Cambridge Branch. The Branches Committee made some funds available to the Cambridge Branch to assist with the cost of setting up the branch. The attempt to set up a Branch in South-East Scotland as a successor to the Dundee Branch appears to have been unsuccessful. The West Devon and Cornwall Branch has also closed during the year.

Paul Harris (Chair of Branches Committee)

The Annual Conference this year was held at the University of Exeter from the 15 to 18 April. Over 150 delegates attended for all or part of the conference.

In all, a total of 68 presentations were offered, organised into 9 sessions over the four days of the conference. Together with the magnificent publishers' exhibition, there was a plethora of exciting activities. An Ice-Breakers puzzle session and an entertaining lecture from Brian Bolt were held in the evenings together with formal receptions and the annual dinner with after-dinner speaker Ted Wragg. The opening lecture was delivered by Ros Sutherland who spoke on "What Can We Learn From Research?", the Hilary Shuard Memorial Lecture was given by Ruth Merttens about "Developments in Numeracy" and David Singmaster admirably closed the conference with his presentation on Recreational Mathematics. John Berry gave his Presidential Address and enlightened us on modelling realistic situations and its part in the understanding and enjoyment of mathematics. All of these sessions were well attended, stimulating and entertaining.

The conference was a great success thanks to all the hard work put in by the organising team both before and during the conference. The Annual Conference is an ideal place to share ideas, meet and make friends, and recharge your mathematical batteries. It is certainly excellent value for money and I would encourage all members of the Association to come to conference soon and better still, bring a friend! You'll go back after the Easter break feeling refreshed, better informed and more enthusiastic.

We look forward to seeing you at future conferences; the next one is The University of Reading from the 3 to 6 April 2002.

Martin Bailey (Chair of Conferences Committee)

EDITORIAL BOARD

The Editorial Board met on 25 November 2000, as did the Gazette Editorial board, and the Maths in School's management meeting took place on 25 October.

My first task has to be to thank, on behalf of the membership, all of the Editors for their dedication and hard work over the year, and at the risk of turning this into an Oscar acceptance speech, all those other wonderful people involved in production, advertising, Assistant Editors, reviews, proof reading, creating puzzles and problems (of a mathematically enriching kind of course!), writing articles, designing covers, creating Web pages etc. etc.

The Mathematical Gazette (3 issues per year) and Mathematics in Schools (5 issues per year) continue to be high-quality, popular and well-respected journals and a pleasure to read.

Mathematical Pie (3 issues per year), which is certainly the first mathematical 'journal' I read as a child, continues to publish creative, fresh and entertaining puzzles and thought-provoking items.

Equals (3 issues per year) and Primary Mathematics (3 issues per year) each seem to be going from strength to strength; it was nice to be able to get some full-colour front covers out this year from these two journals. (This was a direct result of the back covers being sold for full-colour advertisements.)

SymmetryPlus (3 issues per year) continues to be a good read with lots of useful ideas, articles and puzzles for both teachers and pupils.

The MA Newsletter is informative, entertaining, humorous and topical; what more could one ask for in a newsletter!

The Website is increasingly popular, topical and, by its very nature, developing, refining and extending itself.

As you can see from the list above, the MA has many journals and covers a very broad spectrum of readership tastes, publishing between them a very broad spectrum of items. The Editors are always in need of copy in the form of articles, puzzles, notes, games, pictures etc. So..... Why not make 2001/2002 the year you (or one of your students?) submit an item to one of these journals!

Wanted: Editors for 'Primary Mathematics' and the Website from 2002.

Assistant Editor for 'Symmetry Plus'. Contact the Editor in Chief for details.

Susie Jameson (Editor in Chief)

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

The Professional Development Committee has spent a substantial amount of time in the past year keeping up with developments and raising issues related to the training and professional development of mathematics teachers.

Meetings have been held with the DfEE, Key Stage 3 Strategy Directors, General Teaching Council and the Teacher Training Agency. Most of these have been convened on behalf of a smaller group of subject associations (ASE, DATA, GA, HA, NATE, MA). Attending these meetings has been a key part of the role for both the Committee Chair and the Professional Development Officer of the Association.

The MA was awarded funds in summer 2000 to run award bearing INSET. The first of these courses started in spring 2001 with 28 teachers and will conclude in summer 2001, with a repeat planned for autumn 2001. Plans are currently underway for expanding and developing the opportunities offered using this funding.

T³ courses have been offered in a variety of locations this year, and 2200 teacher training hours were delivered in the first quarter of 2001. Further courses are planned for later this year. It is hoped that references to graphics calculator use in the new Key Stage 3 Framework for Mathematics will lead to further opportunities to train teachers. Training has also been offered to Initial Teacher Training students through T³.

In terms of the Professional Development Committee, there was a key change in personnel this year when Professor Adrian Oldknow took over as Chair from Sue Jennings. The committee would like to take this opportunity to thank Sue for all her hard work on behalf of the Association.

Adrian Oldknow (Chair of Professional Development Committee)
Ros Hyde (Professional Development Officer)

PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE

During the year, several books have required reprinting, indicating their high quality. These include Secondary Maths Club Pack, Getting Started and Are You Sure? Learning About Proof. Mental Methods in Mathematics by Doug French had already been reprinted in 1997 and had a further print run this year. From Little Acorns and Chrismaths were reprinted the previous year.

Numeracy across the Curriculum by Mary Ledwick was published in time for this year's conference. This book will assist Deputy Headteachers and Numeracy Co-ordinators of secondary schools in managing their numeracy policy with the greater emphasis on numeracy coming into year 7. Being published shortly are the Dictionary of Mechanics by Jan Jagger (in conjunction with the Institute of Physics) and a completely reworked edition of Starting as a Secondary Mathematics Teacher by Linda Moon and her committee. We expect these two booklets to sell well. The second edition of the new Publications Booklet has been printed and is being circulated to all members of the Association.

Members of Publications Committee have been working hard to raise the levels of sales and the quality of the appearance of our publications. We are grateful to members of the MA who serve on sub-committees of Teaching Committee and who provide such excellent material for publication. We are also grateful to the staff in Leicester, who put so much energy into handling orders, selling at conferences and seeing new materials through to publication.

During the year, the following members have served on Publications Committee: Ian Evans, David Hodgson, Mike Price, Colin Abell, Sue Waring. Bill Richardson, Jan Jagger and Doug French have also attended. Graham Richards is the member of staff who serves the committee. We are continually grateful to Bill Richardson who gives so freely of his time in formatting so much of our material.

Peter Bailey (Chair of Publications Committee)

PUBLICITY AND MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

The Association has continued to have a presence at major Educational Exhibitions. BETT at Olympia and The Education Show at the NEC are the two largest events. At each event, we had many visitors to our stall which resulted in a significant increase in sales of our publications and new memberships. It is always interesting to meet other members and talk with them about their many varied activities and experiences.

We were also represented at events which were specifically mathematical in Stirling, Harrogate, Nottingham and the North-East. Ideally, we would like to attend more events, particularly with a primary focus, but availability to transport materials and staff the stall is a major difficulty.

May I thank all those members who have helped throughout the year, in particular Hamish Sloan. It would be impossible to do any of the above without the support of Marcia and Graham at Headquarters.

David Hodgson (Chair of Publicity amd Membership Committee)

TEACHING COMMITTEE

Teaching Committee's role is to keep under review all matters relating to the teaching and learning of mathematics at all levels, to advise Council on responses and representations to outside bodies and to generate appropriate material for publication or dissemination in other ways.

Teaching Committee meets three times a year in York and holds an Open Meeting each year at Conference. Most of the work is, however, done by subcommittees which are either set up to carry out a particular task and then dissolved when it is complete, or have a standing brief in relation to a particular area which may involve producing publications or other activity.

As Chair of Teaching Committee I should like to record my thanks to all those who serve either on Teaching Committee or on its subcommittees (or, in some cases, both). A lot of people put in a lot of time and effort in working for the Association in this way to further the cause of mathematical education. They are all subject to all the pressures on time, morale and energy that are all too familiar to those working in education. So, I can only say how much their contribution is recognised and appreciated. I should particularly like to thank the secretary and treasurer of Teaching Committee ? Peter Thomas and Jan Jagger ? for the quietly efficient way they fulfil their roles. I should also like to record Teaching Committee's thanks to Melissa Rodd who has stood down this year having served on the committee for many years and to welcome Jane Imrie who has joined us during the year.

The important part of Teaching Committee's work is done by the subcommittees, which have a variety of roles and operate in different ways. A typical subcommittee has about six members, meets once a term on a Saturday and aims to produce a publication over a period of two or three years. Other subcommittees consist of only one or two people or conduct their business by e-mail and may just aim to make a contribution to the Annual Conference or to the Association's website. The rich variety of activity is described in greater detail in the rest of this issue of Teaching Committee News, but I should like to highlight some aspects of the work that is going on.

The A and AS Level Mathematics Subcommittee, chaired by Charlie Stripp, has been strongly involved in instigating the Association's national campaign to encourage more students to take AS or A level Further Mathematics. They have also started a series of articles, entitled Above and Beyond, for publication in Mathematics in School, and it is pleasing to note that a second edition of Are You Sure? Learning about Proof is being published. From the past, because it was first published in 1992, I would note that Mental Methods in Mathematics is still selling well and is just going into its third edition. Work should be complete for Conference on Starting as a Secondary Mathematics Teacher produced by a subcommittee chaired by Linda Moon and Numeracy across the Curriculum, produced by Cathleen Brunt and Mary Ledwick. The ICT Subcommittee under Adrian Oldknow maintains contact by e-mail and is maintaining a useful presence on the website and David Forster is doing the same in relation to a list of mathematics books for the school library to which members are invited to contribute. TaLUM (Teaching and Learning Undergraduate Mathematics) now led by Adrian Simpson, who has taken over from Johnston Anderson as chair, continues to be very active in involving higher education lecturers in matters relating to teaching and learning. I should like to record Teaching Committee's thanks to Johnston for the good work he has done over the years.

For many years the Scottish Interests Subcommittee, chaired by Chris Pritchard, has been active in successfully promoting the Association's work in Scotland in a variety of ways. The subcommittee has now decided that its work should come to an end, because of all the other demands on the time of its active members. I should like to record our thanks to Chris Pritchard and all his colleagues for the work that they have done over the years, which has significantly raised the Association's profile in Scotland and has had a very real impact on mathematics education there.

Active work is going on in the subcommittee chaired by Will Connolly, which is working on Leading and Managing Mathematics, a handbook for heads of department. Steve Drape and Barbara Cullingworth are producing an 11 to 16 version of the book Problem Pages and Chris Pritchard is working on a collection of articles on geometry from the Association's journals to be called Simplicity, Economy and Elegance which is designed to celebrate the centenary of Teaching Committee in 2002.

There are two areas where we would particularly welcome support and help from members. The Primary Subcommittee, chaired by Robyn Pickles, maintains a watching brief on primary school issues, but would welcome new members to make a contribution. We would like to produce a book on Spreadsheets 14 to 16 as a successor to the successful 9 to 13 book, but, again, we would like some more members to add to those who have already indicated an interest in contributing to this.

The continuing development of the Association's website, ably managed by Peter Thomas, offers a valuable outlet for the work of Teaching Committee and several subcommittees are making use of it to disseminate ideas. So do keep a constant eye on www.m-a.org.uk and keep up to date with what is going on.

All members will share Teaching Committee's serious concerns about many aspects of policies at national level. We aim to ensure that The Mathematical Association directly represents those who have particular interest, enthusiasm, expertise and experience in mathematics education at all levels. The Association responds to all consultation documents from government agencies and has been particularly active over the last year in discussions with the National Numeracy Strategy and QCA, and in campaigning both for the future of Further Mathematics in the sixth form and for sensible government policies on able pupils at all levels. However, we would welcome comments on issues as they arise so that we are better informed about the ideas of members and their reactions to proposals. We would urge you both to write to us about matters of concern and to keep an eye on the website for news and requests for responses.

Teaching Committee looks forward to working in the coming year to enhance the teaching and learning of mathematics at all levels, but we are very dependent on the contributions and help of members. Many areas of activity have been highlighted in this report, and we would encourage all members, both young and old, to consider how they can contribute to our work. We would welcome your comments, your ideas and above all your offers to help actively with our work in whatever way reflects your interests and concerns. Do come along to the Open Meeting at Conference to find out more and do write to us with your thoughts and contributions.

Doug French (Chair of Teaching Committee)

Teaching Committee Membership February 2001

Reports from Subcommittees

28 Maths in Further, Tertiary and Continuing Education Subcommittee

The subcommittee met once in 2000. A major item on the agenda was the final preparations for the Conference. At Exeter subcommittee members led an FE Forum and two sessions on Key Skills, all of which were well attended.

Plans to run similar sessions at the ATM conference, to maintain links developed at the joint conference the previous year, were frustrated by a lack of interest from their delegates.

The subcommittee also discussed the idea of an FE page for Mathematics in School, Maths Year 2000, Curriculum 2000, FEDA Maths Networks and the new GCSEs starting in September 2001.

The subcommittee is keen to hear from colleagues in the post-16 sector who are able to contribute to its work.

Valerie Seabright (Chair)

64 A and AS Level Mathematics Subcommittee

The subcommittee met three times during 2000. It enjoyed a very active year:

• The book Problem Pages was published in time for the 2000 Annual Conference.
• At the Annual Conference subcommittee members ran three sessions, on teaching A level Further Mathematics, teaching A level Mathematics to students with a wide range of backgrounds and abilities, and resources to enhance A level teaching.
• In response to issues raised at the Annual Conference, the subcommittee was heavily involved in the Association's lobby to support A and AS Further Mathematics in the light of the changes to A and AS qualifications and the new emphasis on 'broadening' the post?16 curriculum.
• The subcommittee produced a leaflet Further Maths?the Missing Piece?, which promotes the provision of A and AS Further Mathematics in schools and colleges. This leaflet has been distributed to secondary schools and further education colleges by Maths Year 2000. The subcommittee is very grateful for the generous support, financial and otherwise, which it received for this project from many organisations.
• A series of worksheets entitled Above and Beyond has been produced for publication in Mathematics in School. These are intended to provide enrichment material for able pupils in Years 10 and 11.
• A leaflet, Read Any Good (Maths) Books Lately?, with ten suggestions for sixth formers, has been produced and should be distributed early in 2001.

The theme for the coming year's work will be 'Taking Maths Further' and one focus will be to produce resources for students with an intermediate GCSE background, to ease the transition to AS Mathematics in Year 12.

Charlie Stripp (Chair)

93 Teaching and Learning Undergraduate Mathematics (TaLUM) Subcommittee

The subcommittee, which works mainly through its sub-groups, has continued its work throughout 2000 and is beginning to explore new directions to complement its existing areas.

The Content group met three times during the year; twice in Nottingham and once following the TaLUM AGM in London. It has expanded its membership, including valuable new perspectives. An article Supporting Student Learning, is to be published by Teaching Mathematics and its Applications. The group considered questions set to students and the problems the students had with them. In particular, the question of language and whether students understood words and phrases in the way lecturers did. The group then focussed on quantifiers and negation. The members are devising two tests on this topic, one to be given to students on entry to their undergraduate course and the other after the students have had tuition on the topic during their first semester. It is hoped to use the tests in 2001?02.

The Learning and Assessment group published an article in Mathematics Teaching 173 about its research into the responses of secondary PGCE students to their mathematics degrees. The article introduced the results which were obtained by giving a trigger sheet of comments to students studying to be secondary mathematics teachers. This year, the group redesigned its prompt sheet and repeated the survey. More universities responded and more details about more of the students who respond were obtained. We now have comments from students who attended more than 60 British universities for their initial degree as well as some from abroad. We are in the process of analysing the extensive data set we now have and hope to publish something in this area fairly soon.

After many years under the excellent stewardship of Bob Burn, the TaLUM Newsletter has now been incorporated into the new LTSN (Mathematics Statistics and Operational Research) Newsletter, which is able to provide a high production standard and wide circulation. Members of TaLUM have already produced articles for the target audience through this medium.

Members of TaLUM, in various capacities and roles, have liaised with other groups in undergraduate mathematics education, notably London Mathematical Society, Undergraduate Mathematics Teachers Conference, LTSN Maths, Stats & OR Network.

Links have been made with the A and AS Level Mathematics Subcommittee of the MA with the intention of joint work on the transition from school to university, considering particularly the role of further mathematics. In addition, TaLUM is drawing together groups of university mathematicians interested in staff development issues related to teaching and learning undergraduate mathematics.

TaLUM gratefully acknowledges the financial support it receives from the MA, LMS and ATM and looks forward to continuing its work this year.

Adrian Simpson (Chair)

95 Scottish Interests Subcommittee

The subcommittee has met for the last time. It was formed in the autumn of 1991 and continued to meet for almost nine years. In that time its great successes included the running of four regional conferences on mathematics teaching 5?14, the bringing together of teachers in the Edinburgh area to re-launch a Mathematical Association branch in the capital and the production of a 'tartan' issue of Mathematics in School.

However, its busy members have found it increasingly difficult to free up time to meet. Also, whilst in the early years there were specific issues on which the subcommittee could focus, such issues have proved fewer and further between over the last couple of years.

Chris Pritchard (Chair)

110 11 - 16 Subcommittee

The subcommittee developed a problem-based website in prototype form this year. The site allowed for problems, with hints and teaching notes, to be down-loaded in Word format. The aim was to provide mathematical contexts for teachers to use to enrich and illustrate their teaching.

Some aspects of the site proved difficult to resolve with limited resources. It is likely that any future development of the site will be independent of the subcommittee.

Robert Barbour (Chair)

114 Starting as a Secondary Mathematics Teacher

The subcommittee intends to publish a new edition of Starting as a Secondary Mathematics Teacher in time for this year's Annual Conference. It is hoped that the booklet will be a useful reference source especially for newly qualified mathematics teachers. Fine tuning, preparing illustrations and designing the cover are the remaining tasks facing this small subcommittee.

Linda Moon (Chair)

116 Maths Books for the School Library

Work on the planned list of recommended books is proceeding, with sections being posted on the MA Website as they are produced. Titles for inclusion in the list are still welcome; please provide publication details and brief descriptions of any suggestions. If you can help, the chair would be glad to hear from you.

David Forster (Chair)

118 ICT Subcommittee

We are a standing group who work by e-mail when issues arise. This year the ICT agenda has been hi-jacked by the National Numeracy Strategy (NNS) in its production of the draft Framework for Mathematics in Years 7, 8 and 9. A number of our members had input into that document. In stark contrast to the earlier Y7 framework, which was disappointingly light on ICT, the new framework (already in LEAs, due to go to schools at the end of the spring term) is distinctly ICT 'rich'. Effectively it shows that KS3 mathematics cannot be adequately taught without access to suitable software tools (graph-plotter, spreadsheet, dynamic geometry software etc.) and hand-helds (graphic calculators and data-loggers). We are in discussion with the directors of the KS3 strategy (Anita Straker, ex-President of MA, and Carole McIntosh) about the possibility of using the MA's T-cubed programme to support the training for the around 250 LEA KS3 mathematics consultants currently being recruited, and the follow up work they will be doing with staff in schools. There is, then, a real opportunity at last to make an impact on secondary mathematics teaching using ICT.

A related 'bombshell' has been a DfEE announcement, at this year's BETT show, about phase 2 of the Computers for Teachers scheme (CfT). It was that the only teachers eligible this year for the 50% subsidy for those buying their own computers will be teachers enrolled for NOF-training who are already teaching (some) mathematics at KS3. We have pointed out to the DfEE that it would be a good idea to ensure that teachers receiving such new hardware were given ample information about suitable software, support and resources to help them use their equipment to improve their mathematics teaching ? not just their word-processing! We have submitted a proposal to produce such an information pack to be sent out with the new computers, but await a reply. Another good piece of news about the CfT scheme is that it will also be extended to teachers in the FE sector from next September.

Adrian Oldknow (Chair)

119 Numeracy Across the Curriculum Subcommittee

The subcommittee has produced a handbook for numeracy co-ordinators in secondary schools. It came about through Mary Ledwick contacting the MA with the thought that a document she had developed for use in her own school might be useful to other teachers. The subcommittee, consisting of Mary and I, was established in October 1999. Over the following year, with advice from others, we developed the material into a form suitable for wider use. Its work completed, the subcommittee has been dissolved; we hope that the handbook will be published in time for Conference. Perhaps others will be stimulated by this account to offer resources they have developed, so that other teachers can benefit from them.

Cathleen Brunt (Chair)

120 Managing a mathematics Department Subcommittee

The subcommittee, which has eight members, was formed in 1999 to produce a new handbook for heads of mathematics departments. We met on three occasions during 2000 and work is nearing its final stages. The handbook has a provisional title of Leading and Managing Mathematics: a handbook for the head of department. The book will have eight chapters, detailed outlines exist for each. A majority of sections of each chapter have been drafted. What remains is for us to fill in the gaps and pull each chapter together with a uniform style and format. We expect to have a first full draft before summer 2001.

The book should be of interest to heads of mathematics at all stages of their careers in middle management. There is a section for aspiring heads of department and advice for the newly appointed. Major chapters cover: leadership; the curriculum; raising achievement; meeting the diverse needs of pupils; departmental organisation; people management; budgets and resources; and accountability. In an epilogue we consider life beyond middle management, how best to prepare for senior management and other roles in the education world. We intend that it can be dipped into as well as read from cover to cover.

Will Connolly (Chair)

121 Primary Subcommittee

The subcommittee hopes to start work soon. It will advise the Council of the MA on primary issues and develop ways of supporting the teaching of mathematics in primary schools.

Robyn Pickles (Chair)

122 Geometry 2002 Subcommittee

To mark the centenary of Teaching Committee in 2002, it is proposed that a volume of readings in geometry and geometry teaching be put together from the wealth of material to be found in MA publications. A draft contents list was produced over the winter and is being considered by Teaching Committee and Publications Committee. After amendment, in the light of the recommendations of these two committees, editorial and typesetting work should proceed in the second half of 2001. It is intended to publish the book, of about 180 pages in A5-format, in the spring of 2002.

Chris Pritchard (Chair)

123 Spreadsheets 14 - 16 Subcommittee

It is hoped that this subcommittee will be able to start work soon on producing a sequel for 14?16 year olds to From Little Acorns: Spreadsheets 9?13.

(Chair Vacant)

124 Problem Pages 11 - 16 Subcommittee

The subcommittee is gathering material for a book, Problem Pages 11?16, which will be similar in format to the book, Problem Pages, but it will be aimed at 11 to 16 year-olds. The subcommittee hopes to start work soon on editing the book but would welcome contributions of problems which should be sent to the chair.

Steve Drape (Chair)

125 BECTa Communicators Subcommittee

The Virtual Teachers' Centre website (http://vtc.ngfl.gov.uk) is underused, but it has considerable potential to provide support and resources for all teachers. BECTa, who manage the NGfL, convened a meeting on 30th June 2000 with representatives of mathematics subject associations (MA, ATM, NANAMIC and BSRLM) to discuss ways forward. The MA's representatives were Jane Imrie and Charlie Stripp. There was an enthusiastic debate about the ways in which the associations could collaborate to stimulate and maintain discussion.

It was agreed that the structure of the site would be altered to facilitate use and that there will be links direct to the mathematics pages from each of the subject associations' websites. This will focus all discussion on one area rather than across several different websites. The final structure has now been established on the site at http://mathsforum.ngfl.gov.uk. It is open for anyone to contribute once she or he has registered. Messages can be read without registering or logging in.

The VTC also has a contributory database and it was agreed that it would be extremely important to provide a link to this, with an explanation of the facilities available. The database is an important and necessary complement to the conference area.

The subject associations agreed to provide communicators for each of the new discussion areas on the site. These people will check contributions, tidy threads of discussion and edit if necessary. There will be a team of communicators for each area, working on a rota, thus providing continuous monitoring without the task becoming too onerous for any one person. All the team will be encouraged to contribute to and stimulate discussions in the area. The ATM has provided some communicators who are currently working on the site. Any members of the MA who are interested in a similar role are invited to contact Jane Imrie.

Jane Imrie (Chair)

126 QCA/NNS Liaison Subcommittee

The subcommittee was formed during the past year to bring together those members of the Association who have been involved in liaison meetings with QCA and the National Numeracy Strategy. QCA holds a twice-yearly meeting with associations representing mathematics education (MA, ATM, AMET and NAMA) and we have had a significant presence at the two meetings during the year. We also held a meeting at the DfEE with Anita Straker in July to discuss a range of issues relating to the extension of the National Numeracy Strategy into Key Stage 3. Reports of these meetings have appeared in MA News and are available on the subcommittee's pages on the Association's website.

The members of the subcommittee are Trish Morgan and Robyn Pickles (primary), Steve Abbott, Cathleen Brunt and Doug French (secondary) and Charlie Stripp (post-16). We would always welcome comments from members, both about matters we have reported on and matters that we ought to raise in the future, so please let us hear from you.

Doug French (Chair)

127 Mathematics Across the Curriculum Subcommittee

The subcommittee hopes to start work soon on a series of resources on links between mathematics and other subjects. It is hoped to involve members of other subject associations in the work of the subcommittee.

Cathleen Brunt (Chair)

LIBRARY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

The Committee comprises Roy Davies, Mike Dampier, Howard Fay, Marcia Murray (secretary), Mike Price (chair), Stephen Rawlinson (University of Leicester Library), George Rousseau and Mary Walmsley. The members are all based in the Leicester area and represent long-standing interests in the Association's collection of around 8000 books and 700 runs of periodicals, all of which is accommodated in the Library of the University of Leicester. Around 600 rarer books are part of the University's Special Collection. The bulk of the books and periodicals are shelved within the University's stack system of moveable shelving.

The Committee met on three occasions and the principal items of business have been: valuation of the whole collection, including a rare set of lecture notes of the late Francis Skinner, a disciple of the philosopher Wittgenstein; preservation of rarer and more fragile items; management of acquisitions (through donations); cataloguing; management of periodical exchanges; and development of policy for access to and use of the collection.

A specialist valuer, Roger Gaskell, completed the second stage of his work and the collection of books and periodicals is now valued at around £300,000. In addition, specialist advice has been obtained from Ian Smith, of Bernard Quaritch Ltd, concerning the significance and value of the Skinner lecture notes. Around £50,000 has been suggested as an initial valuation for this material, the future of which is still under consideration.

Sixteen rarer and more fragile books have been accommodated in specially-made boxes at a cost of around £600. This forms part of the ongoing work of preservation which is supported by the University's library staff. Given the pressures on shelving space and time, new acquisitions are only being considered where they will significantly enhance the collection without substantially adding to the volume of duplicates. The part of the MA's collection which is accommodated in the Special Collection is being added to the University's computer database catalogue (with lnternet links) as part of an externally-funded project to promote external access. The bulk of the MA's collection still remains to be added to this database at an estimated total cost of £25,000. Decisions about the future of the existing card system and the potential of computerisation will be a priority for 2001-2002. The arrangements for periodical exchanges have been rationalised and are currently being centralised at MA HQ, thereby ending the historical links in this process involving the University's mathematics department.

Policy and practice in access to and use of the collection are still under consideration. The issues here are now bound up with work to develop a new service level agreement between the University and the MA, which will best serve the interests of both parties in this new millennium.

Links between the LMC and Council have been helped by communications between the two chairs, including two joint one-day visits to the University's Library by Bill Richardson and Mike Price, during which wide-ranging discussions have taken place, including meetings with library staff. Some major decisions concerning the finances and future of the collection will need to be referred to Council in the near future.

Mike Price (Chair)

PRIMARY MATHS CHALLENGE

During the year, copies of PMC papers were sold to 780 schools (311 in 1999) for the PMC in November 2000. 3201 packs of ten papers were sold (1093 in 1999) and over 2000 PMC certificates distributed.

643 highest-scoring pupils were invited to take the PMC Finals in February 2001. PMC medallions were awarded to 70 pupils.

This year, Answer Booklets were provided for teachers - these included possibilities for further problems in the classroom based on the PMC questions. Feedback from primary teachers and pupils was overwhelmingly positive. We have received some lovely photographs of pupils receiving their certificates.

For the future the PMC teams aim to:

• maintain the high standard of papers;
• improve instructions;
• improve the marking grid still further;
• raise sales to a target of 1000 schools in 2001 by printing PMC papers in Welsh and by concentrating on marketing the challenge.

Thanks to members of the PMC Teams (Trish Morgan, Robyn Pickles, Colin Abell and Ruth Cullingworth). Many thanks to Marcia Murray and others in HQ for tremendous work in dealing with the printing and distribution of the materials. Thanks also to Dave Hodgson for help in marking the Finals.

Peter Bailey

PROBLEM BUREAU

It has been another quiet year for the Bureau. I am delighted, however, to be able to report that a volunteer has agreed to take over as Director of the Bureau from August 2001. I hope my successor will have as much pleasure in providing solutions as I have had. He is Graham Howlett, 9 Davies Close, Godalming, Surrey, GU7 2HW, to whom requests for solutions should be sent after that date.

Roger F Wheeler

HEADQUARTERS

It has been a busy year for staff at headquarters. Alongside their routine duties, additional initiatives undertaken this year have increased staff workloads. This necessitated the use of temporary office workers, to ensure deadlines were met efficiently during the busiest times. Jill Appleton retired in March 2000, after 17 years service to the Association, and Sally Bryan was appointed as her replacement. Linda Medhurst, although having been employed by the MA for six years, completed her first unsupported year as the Association's Bookkeeper, taking over from Christine Harrison, who left in May 1999. Marcia Murray also completed her first full calendar year with the Association, as Headquarters Office Manager. (Heather Whitby left due to ill health.) John Day commenced his consultancy for the MA in November 2000, working on the marketing of the Association, with Graham Richards to assist him with the various projects. Sally Bryan and Ann Goddard greatly supported the smooth running of the Primary Mathematics Challenge and also the Annual Conference. Linda Medhurst worked hard with bookkeeping duties, working closely with the auditors to overcome unexpected difficulties that occurred with the accounts software. Finally, Anne-Marie Brown supported the running of the office by ensuring that the post, incoming and outgoing, was handled efficiently. She also kept a watchful eye on the stock level of MA publications and journals.

Marcia Murray (Office Manager)

REPORTS FROM REPRESENTATIVES ON OTHER BODIES

The Joint Mathematical Council (JMC) is the body which brings together representatives of many mathematical organisations within the UK. The list of all such bodies is too long to include, but as well as the MA there are representatives from the ATM, IMA and LMS as well as advisers and other Associations. The geographical coverage is good with members from Wales and Scotland as well as England. As Sue Sanders reported last year, the current Chair of JMC is Professor Celia Hoyles of the London University Institute of Education. During the year, two prominent members of the MA Council took up offices in the JMC. Sue Sanders is now the JMC secretary and Adrian Oldknow the treasurer.

The JMC meets three times per year (November, February, June) in the Royal Society. Meetings start late in the morning, the main, routine business is intended to be fitted in before lunch with, if possible, much of the afternoon being given over to a topic for discussion. I have been at the three meetings since April 2000 and feel that I am beginning to get to know my way around. It is useful to know of other Associations and the work they do and to be able to meet a wider range of individuals than usual.

Particular mention should be made of the Algebra Working Group whose report is expected soon. Also noteworthy was the involvement of Anita Straker at the November meeting, where she talked fairly freely from a QCA point of view about various aspects of Key Stages, including testing. The JMC has one significant initiative at present, namely the establishment of the Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (ACME). If this succeeds, ACME would consist of some five or six individuals who, between them, would be representative of mathematics and mathematics education across the UK and would be able to talk to Government about issues of concern and perhaps even be sounded out by Government before critical decisions were finalised. In my view, it is an exciting prospect.

The International Mathematical Olympiad in July 2000 was held in South Korea, from where the UK team brought back two silver and four bronze medals, i.e. all finishing in the top half of the contestants. Since then, the selection process for the July 2001 IMO in the USA has continued with the two rounds of the British Olympiad in January and February, followed by the training session at Trinity College, Cambridge for twenty students. Preparations are in hand for the 2002 IMO in the UK, based at the University of Strathclyde.

The UKMT met five times this year with meetings on 5 April, 14 August, 21 October, 16 November (2000) and 27 January (2001). Amongst many other items, the most exciting has to have been the discussion about the UK's hosting of the IMO in Glasgow next summer (2002).

The UK JMC took place on Tuesday 28 March 2000 and attracted 142,500 entrants. The top 900 were invited to take part in the Junior Mathematical Olympiad. The UK IMC attracted approximately 123,500 entrants, the top candidates were invited to take the European Kangaroo and/or the International Invitational Intermediate Mathematics Competition as appropriate. The UK SMC attracted 32,211 with the top 800 going on to BMO round 1, the top 100 of these went on to BMO round 2, and 20 were then selected for the Trinity Training Session at Easter. A squad of eight is then selected for further training and eventually the team of six, which will represent the UK in the IMO, is selected.

The UK IMO (2000) team represented the UK in Taejon, South Korea, where they finished 22nd out of 82 overall. The UK team members individually won:

Two Silver - Thomas Barnet-Lamb of Westminster School London, David Collier of King Edward VI School Southampton

Four Bronze - Stephen Brooks of Abingdon School, David Knipe of Sullivan Upper School, Michael Spencer of Lawnswood High School and Oliver Thomas of Winchester College

The two reserves were Hannah Burton (City of London Girls' School) and Kerwin Hui (Berkhamsted Collegiate School)

Imre Leader was the UK Leader and Richard Atkins was the Deputy Leader.

Your MA representatives (Roy Ashley, Robert Barbour) on the English steering group of the OECD-PISA research programme are hard at work acting as subject experts on the items being prepared for the 2003 project which will focus upon literacy in mathematics.

The 2000 project had a focus upon literacy in the mother-tongue, but had a small number of mathematics and science questions in preparation for mathematics in 2003 and science in 2006. We were very concerned about the quality of the mathematics questions in 2000 and especially of our inability to influence the decisions of the international team of researchers. The results are not yet available, but we sense that our fears proved correct and are therefore hopeful that we will be listened to for 2003. In any event, the questions of the first batch are much better even in their first draft. This is a major international project, the largest since the TIMSS survey. We hope that members will be happy for their schools to take part in the initial trialling in the near future and in the live project in two years' time.

The Mathematical Association is an Institutional Member of the College of Teachers. This means that all members of the MA are able to join the College at a specially reduced rate of £12.

Brief History: The College of Teachers was formed as a Society of Teachers in 1846, being incorporated by Royal Charter three years later as The College of Preceptors, to be changed to its present name by Supplemental Charter in 1998.

Membership: Teachers can become members and use the post-nominal MCoT. There is no distinction between members who join directly or indirectly through an institutional member. All have full voting rights and enjoy the same benefits. Other professionals and governors involved with any educational institution can join as associate members, but do not enjoy voting rights or a post-nominal. In all other respects, they are the same as full members.

Benefits: As well as representing the generic interests of all teachers at all levels to government and its agencies, the College offers other benefits. These include: ? Quarterly editions of the College's journal Education Today written by teachers for teachers, focusing on issues relevant to today's teachers. ? A regular newsletter and access to the College's website, keeping members up-to-date with College initiatives and developments as well as highlighting new challenges in the UK educational scene. ? Membership of, and support from, the College's regional groups. ? Access to the College's qualifications and all university libraries. ? Reductions on educational resources, healthcare and travel.

Brief Annual Report: The college has moved from its premises in Theydon Bois, and now has offices in Central London, although much administration is done by home workers at Theydon. A new Professional Officer, Melanie (Mel) Wilde has been appointed. She is visiting schools, colleges and other institutions, to talk about the College and hopefully to obtain more members (schools, as well as subject and other educational institutions, can be institutional members). She came directly from teaching in Brighton. Raising the profile of the College will hopefully raise subject associations' profiles and attract new members. The College had its first annual conference on 11 May. There were about 100 delegates, with a wide range of organisations being represented, for example the BBC & Suzy Lamplugh Trust, as well as schools and subject associations. There was also a strong international flavour, with delegates from Japan, and the Czech Republic for example. Professor Tim Brighouse gave the first main speech, "From Secret Garden to Public Street - Is there a third Way?", with other talks by Trevor Kerry, "Revisiting Plowden: Towards a more humane approach to the Curriculum for the 21st century.", and Brian Thorne, "The Human Cost of Educational Straight-jackets.". The afternoon session was a lively debate "State Control of the curriculum is destructive of Learning", which was carried by a vote of 42 for, and 15 against with 14 abstentions. For more information, please contact the CEO, Professor Ray Page, College of Teachers, PO Box 6358, Theydon Bois, EPPING, CM16 7FD. Phone 01992 812727, Fax 01992814690 E-mail alerie@cot2.freeserve.co.uk Website address: http://www.collegeofteachers.ac.uk The website provides much information on the college as well as many other useful educational links.

I have not attended a meeting of this Association this year, but it does a good job in highlighting the small amount of money spent each year by schools on books.

The mathematics team at QCA has two meetings each year with representatives of subject associations - AMET, NAMA, ATM and The Mathematical Association. Five representatives from the MA, Cathleen Brunt, Doug French, Trish Morgan, Robyn Pickles and Charlie Stripp, have attended meetings this year. Topics discussed have covered National Numeracy Strategy, World Class Tests for able 9 and 13 year olds, Acceleration or Enrichment, New Specifications for GCSEs, AS Use of Mathematics, New National Curriculum and Post-16 Developments.

This organisation has existed since 1998 with the objectives of forming an umbrella organisation for European mathematics teacher organisations (principally in the EU but also in other European countries) to jointly address questions of teaching and learning mathematics, to promote joint activities to improve mathematics education, and to encourage exchanges of information amongst its members. The organisation's member organisations so far are the mathematics teacher associations of France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium (French-speaking), Netherlands and Finland. The MA was invited to attend the meetings with observer status in Paris in July 2000 and February 2001. The MA's representative was Neil Bibby, Member of Council. He reported back to Council on each of these meetings; the reports of these meetings form part of the minutes of the September 2000 and March 2001 Council minutes. At the March 2001 Council meeting, it was recommended that the MA encourage this embryo organisation and become a member, and Council decided to accept this recommendation.

This group is currently in abeyance. In the past, the group provided a critical overview of OCR's maths papers at the various stages. The Association is urging that the group be reformed to enable this to happen again.

The 9th International Conference on Mathematical Education was held at the Makuhari Convention Centre near Tokyo, Japan, from 31 July to 6 August 2000. It was a fantastic event with over 2000 people present. This was fewer than ICME-8 in 1996, its considerable distance causing a challenge to many. Despite this, however, 86 people from the UK attended, giving us the fourth largest attendance behind Japan (864), USA (211) and China (110). The Mathematical Association had a large presence, with a stand in the Exhibition Hall, staffed every open moment by Marcia Murray and Linda Medhurst, thus enabling constant MA promotional activities, sale of publications and membership recruitment. The Association awarded bursaries totalling £5000 (£2000 to individuals and £3000 to the Joint Mathematical Council).

LIST OF BODIES AND OUR REPRESENTATIVES 2000/2001

(n.b. Where formal representation is not invited we have established informal links.)

ACCOUNTS

The Mathematical Association was founded in Great Britain in 1871. The Association is registered as a charity under number 313281.

The objects of the charity are to improve the teaching of mathematics and its applications and to provide a means of communication amongst students and teachers of mathematics for this purpose and to take such measures as may appear expedient to advance the views of the charity on any question affecting the study and teaching of mathematics and its applications. Such measures include the provision and maintenance of the library, publication of periodicals and other items and the holding of meetings and conferences.

With the approval of the Council, Branches of the charity may be formed. The Council may also approve the designation of other Associations as Branches, or as Corresponding Associations.

During the year there were 16 established branches of the charity and 4 designated branches. The income and expenditure of the established branches is included in these financial statements.

The trustees who served during the year were:

Dr S. E. Sanders, Mr E. R. Ashley, Mr P. Metcalf, Mr S. Abbott, Mr W. P. Richardson M.B.E., Prof. J. C. Robson, Miss S. G. Jameson, Mr P. Bailey, Mr N. Bibby, Mr D. Carter, Mr R. G. Francis (resigned 16th September 2000), Dr. P. J. Message, Ms P. M. Morgan, Mr A. Robin, Mr M. Bailey, Prof. J. Berry, Mr M. Mudge, Mrs S. Jennings, (resigned 24th June 2000), Mr R. Barbour, Mr D. French, Mr D. Hodgson, Mrs R. Pickles, Dr. W. Brakes, (appointed 17th April 2000), Mr M. Sanders (appointed 17th April 2000), Mr C. Stripp (appointed 17th April 2000), Prof. A. Oldknow (co-opted 9th December 2000), Dr. P. Harris (co-opted 9th December 2000)

The charity consists of personal members, including honorary members and institutional members.

The charity achieved a surplus of £43,722 for the year (1999 £80,008). The detailed results are set out on pages 5 to 12.

The charity is mindful of its responsibility to improve the financial standing of the organisation and Council has already put in place a rigorous policy towards the management of its resources and finances which is now beginning to reap benefits. The long-term future of the charity depends upon its ability to maintain and strengthen its membership base as well as ensuring that sufficient funding is secured to support its various undertakings.

The Council has agreed the following transfers to Designated Funds during the year:

A resolution proposing the re-appointment of PKF as auditors will be proposed at the Annual General Meeting.

The principal address of The Mathematical Association is as follows:

259 London Road, Leicester LE2 3BE United Kingdom.

By order of the Council

Chair of Council, 10 April 2001

Law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the Council to prepare financial statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the financial activities of the charity during the year and of its state of affairs at the end of the year. In preparing those financial statements, the Council is required to:

• select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
• make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
• state whether applicable accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in operation.

The Council is responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy the financial position of the charity and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the applicable law. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT: YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2000