Annual Report 2001/2002

PRESIDENT'S REPORT

Some time in 1978 or 1979, a teacher at a neighbouring school, one Trish Morgan, asked me if I would like to go to a meeting about teaching mathematics. Some 20+ years later, I find myself writing a report at the end of my year as President of The Mathematical Association. I have had three terrific jobs in that time, firstly as mathematics co-ordinator at Severne Road Junior School, then in the mathematics advisory team for the City of Birmingham and latterly researching and teaching beginning primary school teachers at the University of Wales, Swansea. I have gained an M.Ed and a PhD along the way. I have also visited Canada, Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Australia and Japan to discuss teaching mathematics. And all because I went to a meeting with Trish Morgan. Thanks, Trish!

I was surprised and honoured to be asked to be President and although I had decided to take a break after periods as Chair of Teaching Committee and Chair of Council, how could I refuse? Very few Presidents, other than Hilary Shuard, have a primary background and I think I may well be the first who was working in Wales.

Strangely enough, for someone who had worked on Council for a number of years, I was not completely sure what I would be expected to do as President. As those of you who have attended previous AGMs will recall, there are extensive rules and regulations governing the running of the Association but there does not appear to be a 'President's Handbook'. Indeed, the new President, Barry Lewis, and I have started to draft such a tome.

What did I expect?
Well, I knew I would have to give a Presidential Address at the end of the year. This seemed rather strange, as one might expect an Address to set the agenda for the Presidential Year. Luckily, I regularly lecture to large groups as part of my job so I was not too fazed by this expectation, although I did want to make sure that my address would have something for everyone, whether they were working in a primary school, a secondary school, FE or HEI. I was standing on Bristol Parkway Station on my way back from a Council Meeting when I spotted a brilliant poster advertisement for Joanne Harris' book 'Five quarters of the orange' and an idea came to me - we don't just form our ideas about mathematics from our classroom interactions but from all around us. I had the basis for my Address.

I rather expected to be inundated with invitations from Branches but this did not happen! I did receive the traditional invitation to the President from the Cardiff Branch. For this President, that was very convenient! I was able to try out a multi-media approach and some of the ideas for my Presidential Address. I had been invited to the London Primary Conference, but unfortunately this event had to be cancelled.

I was also invited to some wonderful events, although it was not always clear whether I was being invited as President of The Mathematical Association or because of my work with other organisations. However, I always took the opportunity to promote the MA and passed a number of contacts and ideas on to Council. One in particular I would like to see us develop, is the nomination of someone for a Teaching Award (more information at http://www.teachingawards.com/). I did write and congratulate the two area winners who were mathematics teachers and invited them to our Conference, but neither were able to attend. I hope it will become a tradition to invite such winners.

Another opportunity that came our way that I would like to see as a regular feature, was the possibility to sponsor a member who is going to work for VSO for a year. Look out for articles in our periodicals from Frieda Wilkinson on her time in The Gambia.

Perhaps one element of being President of which I was a little unsure, was answering questions from the Press. I had a great deal of support from members of Council and other contacts within the Association, who very speedily responded to my requests for information and advice prior to 'giving an interview'. In particular, Teaching Committee was able to provide valuable and well-informed views from the membership, which gave me confidence. In the main, both the articles written by journalists and the pieces I had published in the Times Educational Supplement were well received. I don't think the Chair of Council had to apologise on my behalf too many times!

What did I want to achieve?
As all good teachers know, we must have intended outcomes for our endeavours. What did I hope to achieve as President of The Association? On reflection, I had three main objectives and I believe I made some progress on one of these at least.

Firstly, I am committed to the right of every learner to be taught by a competent, confident and enthusiastic teacher of mathematics; hence the title for the Conference 'The very best mathematics for all'. The Mathematical Association has been at the forefront of lobbying politicians and advising policy makers for a very long time and, in recent years, we have seen some inroads into this ongoing challenge. This issue is being followed up on many fronts and was the theme of both the articles I wrote for TES. I am continuing to be very active on this in all aspects of my work.

Secondly, I wanted to demonstrate to teachers in the primary phase that the Association had much to offer them. I think if I could have visited Branches and given a talk with a primary theme, this may have been productive but the opportunities did not arise. Perhaps I should have been more pro-active, so here goes. Many Branches have a VIth Form event, why not have a primary event? After the national tests, I'm sure many schools are looking for alternative and exciting activities for their Year 6 pupils. Given the appropriate date, I could bring some PGCE students along to help run the day. Why not ask the Immediate Past President to do something for your Branch next summer? We also invited a significant number of primary teachers to contribute to the Annual Conference and those who were able to accept gave sessions that were much appreciated. However, we must ensure that our publicity for the next Conference has a clear indication of the primary offerings as well as those for secondary.

Thirdly, I have always been an advocate of collaboration between the many and varied societies that work in the area of mathematics education. There are some examples of good practice; our previous joint conferences with ATM, the meetings of representatives from a range of societies with QCA and of course the activities of the Joint Mathematical Council for which I act as Honorary Secretary. I am very pleased that this year has seen the beginning of an independent committee (Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education), which acts as a single voice for the mathematical community and is supported by The Royal Society and Joint Mathematical Council, and funded by The Gatsby Foundation.

In Conclusion:
I would like to thank The Association for the honour and opportunities afforded by my year as President. I wish the new President, Barry Lewis, every success. May the Association go from strength to strength and I wish all the members every success for themselves and their pupils.

Sue Sanders (President)

COUNCIL

As normal, Council has had four meetings since the last AGM. Meetings were held early in June, September, December and March. In addition, Standing Committee met three times. The Council meetings have been well attended and a great deal of business is accomplished. Inevitably, there is some tension between allowing thorough discussion and getting through the business in a reasonable time. The extent to which this was managed is for others to judge rather than the Chair. I should, on behalf of the Association, as well as for myself, publicly express appreciation to the members of Council for the time they give up to attend meetings. It should be remembered that, in most cases, members will also be participating in other meetings or staffing stalls at exhibitions or generally be working to promote our Association in the mathematical community.

It seems to me that the Association is in a period of great change. I reported last year that we had bought in the services of John Day, a professional marketer. For most of the year, John worked on our behalf for one day a week. This allowed him to initiate a membership drive. However, once things are moving, it requires less effort to keep them going so, for the last few months, John's input has been on the basis of half a day per week. John has tried a number of ways to increase the membership. All could realistically be described as experimental and some were by no means as successful as others. However, it is very clear that the project has been successful with a substantial increase of membership being recorded. It does need to be pointed out that virtually all this growth has been in increasing the number of institutional members. In practical terms, it is possible to direct mailings to schools but it is not quite clear how to do the same for individuals. So, in that sense, the membership profile is changing. Up to now, the focus has been on larger schools but we have recently mailed all secondary schools with very encouraging results and all primary schools are to be mailed during the summer term.

Mention of primary schools brings me nicely to The Primary Mathematics Challenge. This initiative has now completed a trial year and two full years. It is proving to be very successful, both in providing challenging material for primary teachers to use and generating income. In the letter to primary schools referred to above, we are wanting schools to join but we are also pushing PMC very hard. I should like to pay tribute to the committee who run the PMC. Peter Bailey is its leader and the other members are: Ruth Cullingworth, Robyn Pickles, Colin Abell and Trish Morgan. I must also acknowledge the contribution of Tony Gardiner whose idea it was some years ago. This is another project, which, without his drive and enthusiasm, would not have happened. Who knows, in years to come, the MA may be considered as an offshoot of the PMC!

Last year, I also highlighted Continuing Professional Development for the progress that was being made. I am pleased to say that this area continues to progress. The 'old' projects are still ongoing, but we have also begun what we hope will be a long lasting series for one-day events to assist teachers with their obligations for the Gifted and Talented. So far, two such events have taken place, the first in Didcot and a second in Leeds. Both were full, so it would appear that there is a strong demand for such activities. We feel that the CPD activities are going so well that we need more assistance. To that end, we advertised a part-time post, which will include some CPD activities. The response to the advertisement has been very good and we plan to resolve the situation before the end of April.

Our headquarters staff continue to work hard for the Association. There have been changes in a number of aspects since the last AGM. Graham Richards left at the end of November to pursue his vocation in the Church. Graham deserves our thanks for taking on added responsibility during the time of Heather Whitby's illness. Many of you will have met his replacement, Lisa Hall, at the Annual Conference. At my age, nearly everybody looks young but Lisa looks very young indeed. As many will remember, Graham worked in a part-time capacity; it is very pleasing that Lisa is full-time. The other members of staff continue under the expert guidance of Marcia, our indispensable Office Manager. The building itself has not been neglected. There has been a substantial programme of redecoration and a new computer system has been installed. We are making progress but there is still much to do!

Finally, I have the sad and happy task of reporting the comings and goings of council members. At this stage, Council bids farewell to Robyn Pickles after three years, Steve Abbot also after three years, and Trish Morgan after lots of years. In her time on Council, Robyn helped guide decisions relating to the primary school sector; I am pleased that she is to continue her involvement in the PMC. Steve leaves us after three 'presidential' years; in his time on Council he has made a major contribution to the Association and I am convinced that we would not be as strongly placed without his efforts and vision. I should also like to place on record our thanks to him for the seven years he spent as editor of the Mathematical Gazette. Now, what can be said about Trish Morgan? She was on Council in the early 1990s when I first joined; she had a short break, but couldn't keep away and rejoined in about 1996. She was an excellent member of Council; she had lots of good ideas but was always willing to take on board the views of others. In recent years, she occupied the role as the member-without-office on Standing Committee and she made sure the Officers behaved. In addition, for the last year, she has been the member responsible for Headquarters. As with Robyn, Trish has been in the PMC team and is willing to continue. There is one change of position. Paul Metcalf has been our treasurer since 1997. He brought to that job a professionalism that it had not previously received. I cannot but applaud the stylish way in which he has educated Council in financial matters and done much to improve our lot. Amazingly, after five years of really hard work, he is still keen to continue on Council and has accepted the post of Chair of the Publications. We need to thank him for what he has done for us, as well as for what he is going to do. In a sense, there is another change as Michael Fox has been a co-opted member and is taking over the Treasurer's role from Paul. I am pleased to welcome three fresh members-without-office. They are Ruth Cullingworth, a primary school teacher in Gloucester, Nick Lord, a secondary school teacher from Tonbridge, and Keith Cadman, who has an advisory type of role in the West Midlands.

Bill Richardson (Chair of Council)

BRANCHES COMMITTEE

The Branches committee held two meetings during the last year, the first in April 2001 and the second in November 2001. Both meetings were held at the Leicester Headquarters of the Association. During the year, Linda Moon resigned as Secretary of the Branches Committee and I would like to thank Linda for all of her hard work during her period in office. Dave Pountney has taken over from Linda as the Secretary of the Branches Committee.

The Branches perform an important role within the Association, as they can organise a range of activities for local members including talks on topics of interest, problem evenings for school pupils and discussion sessions for teachers. Whilst most Branches do organise a highly successful programme of activities, some Branches are in decline due to the fall in local membership. Therefore I would like to take this opportunity to urge all members who are in the catchment area for one of the Branches to join that Branch and get involved in the activities of the Branch. Contact details for each Branch are regularly published in MA News and can be found on the Association's web site.

During the year, two Branches, Thames Valley and Manchester, closed. A new Branch is being created in Northern Ireland. As chairman of the Branches Committee, I can help and advise any group of members who would like to start a new Branch, and the Council of the Association can provide financial help with the costs of starting up a new Branch.

Paul Harris (Chair of Branches Committee)

In 2001 the Annual Conference was held at the St. Martin's College, Lancaster from the 8th to 11th April. Over 180 delegates attended for all or part of the conference.

The theme of the conference was 'Visualising Mathematics'. 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. A quiz, ceilidh and an entertaining lecture from Sarah Flannery on 'Exploring and Discovering Maths Through Puzzles' were held in the evenings, together with formal receptions and the annual dinner with after-dinner speaker Simon Singh.

The opening lecture was delivered by Celia Hoyles, who spoke on 'Developing A Mathematical Habit Of Mind'; the Hilary Shuard Memorial Lecture was given by Mike Askew about developments in teaching primary mathematics and Barry Lewis admirably closed the conference with his presentation on 'Perception in Maths - The Calculus of Change'. The Presidential Address, 'Rank and File; Vision and Visualisations', was given by Steve Abbott; a splendid powerpoint presentation. All of these sessions were well attended, stimulating and entertaining. In 2002 the Annual Conference was held at the Reading University from the 3rd to 6th April. Over 160 delegates attended for all or part of the conference.

The theme of the conference was 'The Very Best Mathematics For All'. In all, a total of 67 presentations were offered, organised into 10 sessions over the four days of the conference. Together with the magnificent publishers' exhibition, there was again a plethora of exciting activities. A quiz and an entertaining icebreakers session from Brian Bolt were held in the evenings, together with formal receptions and the annual dinner with after-dinner speaker Ray Monk.

The opening lecture was delivered by Brian Butterworth who spoke on 'Mathematics and The Brain', the Hilary Shuard Memorial Lecture was given by Tim Coulson on the conference theme of 'The Very Best Mathematics for All' and was complemented by a very entertaining ICT Plenary session from Douglas Butler entitled 'But We Managed with a Piece of Chalk for Centuries' and Derek Holton closed the conference in his own inimitable style with his interactive presentation on 'Maths Is Dead. Long Live Grapejuice'. Sue Sanders gave the Presidential Address, 'Tales from the mathematical classroom', which was an excellent multi-media extravaganza. All of these sessions were well attended, stimulating and entertaining.

Both of these conferences were a great success thanks to all the hard work put in by the organising team both before and during these events. 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 the 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 East Anglia, Norwich from the 12th to 15th April 2003.

Martin Bailey (Chair of Conferences Committee)

EDITORIAL BOARD

As always my first task has to be to thank, on behalf of the membership, all of the Editors and Assistant Editors for their dedication and hard work over the year, and all the other people involved in production, advertising, reviews, proof-reading, creating puzzles and problems, writing articles, designing covers, creating web pages etc., etc.

There have been some problems and some changes over the year.

Firstly, please do accept my sincere apologies - as well as those of the editor, for the late arrivals of SymmetryPlus this year. We will try to be more punctual. (There have been some problems involving lost proofs, the Royal Mail and a computer that crashed. The problem is if you do miss the deadline, you miss the mail shot altogether and so have to wait to hitch a ride on the next Maths in Schools issue.)

Secondly, we have had to say farewell to Steve Abbott (Editor of The Mathematical Gazette) and Malcolm Sanders (Editor of Primary Mathematics). I cannot express my thanks adequately for all the hard work that they have done. You are both wonderful! Each of these very successful editors has made such a huge mark on the journal they were editing. You are both going to be VERY hard acts to follow. I think the only thing remaining is to say a big THANK YOU to you both.

So now you will have realised that the third thing I need to say is that we have two new editors. Gerry Leversha has taken over as editor of the Gazette and Lynne McClure has taken over as editor of Primary Maths. I am sure that the membership will join me in wishing them success.

For those unaware of the journals we produce (shame on you!) I reprint this novice's guide I wrote last year.

'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) 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.

'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 News' is informative, entertaining, humorous and topical, what more could one ask for in a newsletter!

Our web site 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 2002/2003 the year you (or one of your students?) submit your first item to one of these journals! Come on, be brave!!!!.

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. Some 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. We have continued to run courses with the University of Exeter with these funds and more than 20 teachers are currently studying for an award.

T3 courses have been offered in a variety of locations this year, with more than 900 teachers attending training in 2001. Further courses are planned for later this year. Following the publication of the Key Stage 3 Framework for Mathematics in April 2001, there has been an increase in interest in this technology and we have worked with a number of Local Education Authorities, and trained Key Stage Three consultants as a result. Training has also been offered to Initial Teacher Training students through T3.

In total, more than 90 teachers have attended one-day courses offered by The Mathematical Association on working with able pupils in mathematics. These courses were over-subscribed and we are hoping to run them again in the future. Our thanks go to Tony Gardiner, Jennie Golding and Tony Burgall for making these events so successful.

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

PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE

At the start of year Peter Bailey relinquished his role as Chair of Publications Committee and Bill Brakes took on the role of acting chair. Recently Paul Metcalf has been elected Chair.

The most significant decision of the year was to put the Geometry book, celebrating 100 years of Publications Committee, to an outside publisher. In view of the significance of this book, either decision - to publish in-house, or to use a professional publisher - carried an element of risk. The effect of this decision will be monitored so as to inform future decisions.

Two new publications this year were Starting Out as a Secondary Mathematics Teacher and Dictionary of Mechanics. In addition many established publications continued to sell well, with a number of reprints undertaken. The Primary Mathematics Challenge continues to go from strength to strength, with further expansion this year, and generating a significant number of new members for the MA. In addition a PMC Book - including questions from previous years, solutions and hints - was prepared in time for Conference 2002.

During the year, the following members have served on the Publications Committee: Bill Brakes, Cathleen Brunt, Ian Evans, David Hodgson, Paul Metcalf, Colin Abell, Sue Waring. Bill Richardson, Peter Bailey, and John Day have also attended. Lisa Hall is the member of staff who now serves the Committee.

If any member has an ambition to be involved in publishing, enjoys decision-making and would like to be a part of this Committee, then please contact Paul Metcalf on 0116 221 0013.

Bill Brakes (Acting Chair of Publications Committee)

PUBLICITY AND MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE

The Association was represented at BETT and The Education Show. We were very pleased with the response from teachers at these events. We also attended various smaller events, with the MEI Conference being particularly successful.

What can you as members do?

• In Primary Schools - subscribe to EQUALS - use materials from Primary Mathematics with your pupils - enter the PMC and buy Primary Mathematics Challenge 1999/2002, the new PMC book.
• In Secondary Schools - encourage your feeder primaries to enter the PMC - use Mathematics in School in your lessons.
• If you have contact with students in teacher training - use MA materials so that they see them and are attracted to use them.
• All members - encourage others to join by showing how useful our periodicals and publications really are.

David Hodgson (Chair of Publicity amd Membership Committee)

TEACHING COMMITTEE

Teaching Committee was founded in 1902, so 2002 is our centenary year. We are celebrating by producing a book: Simplicity, Economy and Elegance. It is a collection of readings on geometry taken from the Association's publications over the last hundred years, including items by G.H. Hardy and Bertrand Russell as well as more recent contributors. The book also includes a variety of Desert Island Theorems contributed by a wide range of distinguished mathematicians and educators. The editor is Chris Pritchard who has devoted a vast amount of time and energy to the project for which we are immensely grateful. Our thanks also go to Bill Richardson who is doing the typesetting. We hope that the book will be a distinctive contribution to mathematical literature and that it will reach a wide audience across the world.

The role of Teaching Committee is 'to keep under review matters concerning the teaching and learning of mathematics and to address matters of potential future importance'. We put this into practice in two distinct ways:

• Providing advice and resources for teachers of mathematics;
• Seeking to influence national policies on mathematics education.

Teaching Committee consists of a chair, secretary, treasurer, up to eight elected members and several ex-officio members. The current membership is listed at the end of Teaching Committee News. I should like to record my thanks to Colin Abell, Roy Ashley, Linda Moon and Richard Wilson who have each served Teaching Committee well in different ways over many years and who have left us during the year. We are very pleased to welcome Robert Barbour, Anna Dunlop, Mary Ledwick, Ray Steele and Geoff Tennant who have joined us this year.

I should also like to record our very considerable thanks to Peter Thomas whose term of office as secretary comes to an end in June. Peter has been a superbly efficient and effective secretary, a role which he combines with so many other valued contributions both to the Association and in other ways to mathematical education. He will be a hard act to follow, but we are immensely grateful to Geoff Tennant for agreeing to take on the role of secretary as Peter's successor.

Teaching Committee represents the wide range of mathematical interests to be found amongst the members of the Association. We have a wide geographical spread – from Exeter to Elgin – and we have a variety of members from primary, secondary, tertiary and higher education. The Committee meets three times a year in York and holds an Open Meeting each year at Conference. We are always on the lookout for new ideas and members who are willing to develop them.

Besides the geometry book, two other books will be published over the next year: Leading and Managing Mathematics: a Handbook for the Head of Mathematics, which is being produced by a subcommittee chaired by Will Connolly, and Problem Pages 11 to 16, a new collection of problems for the 11 to 16 age range being compiled by Barbara Cullingworth and Steve Drape. In addition, work is proceeding on other publications for 2003 and beyond, on spreadsheets for the 14 to 16 age range, mathematics across the curriculum and A-level mathematics.

Most of Teaching Committee's work is done by its subcommittees. These have a variety of roles and take many different forms. A typical one may have about six members, meet once a term on a Saturday and aim 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 have more of a focus on influencing policies and responding to events. People invariably find that working as a member of a subcommittee is a stimulating and rewarding experience, so do consider offering to contribute in some way. Details of the rich variety of activity appear in the rest of this issue of Teaching Committee. 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 March 2002
Officers

Reports from Subcommittees

93 Teaching and Learning Undergraduate Mathematics (TaLUM) Subcommittee

TALUM works through two main subgroups: 'Content' and 'Learning and Assessment'.

The 'Content' subgroup had looked at the question of language and whether students understood words and phrases in the way lecturers did. The group has focused on quantifiers and negation and 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 lectures, etc. on this topic during their first semester. These tests are currently being given and the analysis should follow soon.

The 'Learning and Assessment' subgroup is following up on the work published in Mathematics Teaching about PGCE students' attitudes to their mathematics degrees by repeating their survey on a larger scale and including third year undergraduates who are not going on to teach. In addition, TALUM maintains links with 'MidMath' which is looking at the secondary/tertiary interface and, through links with the Post-16 Subcommittee has conducted a survey into the uptake of Further Mathematics A and AS levels in the light of recent changes to pre-university teaching.

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)

118 ICT Subcommittee

The subcommittee is a standing group which circulates material by e-mail when required. This year it looked as if our main task would be to prepare a set of materials for the DfES to accompany the laptops ordered by KS3 mathematics teachers under their Computers for Teachers Phase 3 scheme. In the event, though, that idea foundered on the issues of cost and administration. However the DfES have now asked the British Educational and Communications Technology Agency (BECTa) to produce guidance materials in ICT for all secondary school subject departments, and Adrian Oldknow has been asked to edit the mathematics materials, which will bear the MA logo alongside the BECTa and DfES ones. Work on this will get underway in 2002 in association with the KS3 mathematics strategy.

As many will know, the KS3 mathematics strategy has been the major focus of professional development activities in secondary school mathematics this year. So far it is not given any attention to ICT in the training materials developed from the Framework. However 2002 is set to see the "great leap forward" in terms of ICT use in secondary schools as the KS3 strategy turns its attention towards this aspect of enhancing mathematics teaching. Ros Hyde and Adrian Oldknow are in regular (termly) contact with the KS3 strategy directors about issues concerning professional development, and other members of TC, including Doug French, are in contact with Carole McIntyre about the mathematics strategy in particular.

Related to this, Ros Hyde and Adrian Oldknow are receiving numbers of request from LEA consultants and advisers for ICT & mathematics sessions under the T-cubed banner. Similary Neil Challis, Ros Hyde and Adrian Oldknow have established close links with the National Association for Numeracy and Mathematics in Colleges (NANAMIC) and will be helping to run a series of four regional workshops in March (Stafford, Kingston, York and Taunton). The TTA are clearly concerned that the impact of the NOF-funded ICT training for secondary subject specialists has not been as good as hoped for, and the MA is in discussion with TTA for proposals to improve the situation with respect to some providers.

Finally it is a pleasure to report that BECTa is also making great leaps forward both in being proactive in commissioning new mathematics materials and in taking the lead in bringing about greater co-operation between the various agencies such as the KS3 strategy, QCA and TTA. Richard Bridges, Ros Hyde and Adrian Oldknow are all members of the BECTa mathematics consultative group which looks like having a much greater role to play in the near future.

Adrian Oldknow (Chair)

120 Managing a Mathematics Department Subcommittee

The subcommittee has continued its work on producing the handbook, Leading and Managing Mathematics: a Handbook for the Head of Mathematics. It is hoped that it will be published during 2002.

Will Connolly (Chair)

121 Primary Subcommittee

The subcommittee continues to provide a voice for members in the primary sector through its contribution to the Association's twice-yearly meetings with QCA.

Robyn Pickles (Chair)

122 Geometry 2002 Subcommittee

This subcommittee of one, aided by Doug French and Jan Jagger is working towards the production of the proposed book, Simplicity, Economy and Elegance: Readings in Geometry and Geometry Teaching. In recent weeks a decision has been made to involve a publishing house in this venture and at the time of writing (end-December 2001) negotiations are proceeding. As editor I have been eliciting and editing contributions of two kinds to supplement the archival material already identified for inclusion.

Of the five chapter introductions work is underway on four. The general introduction is to be written last. Douglas Hofstadter has agreed to write the foreword. There are to be 31 Desert Island Theorems from leading mathematicians, educationalists and teachers with close connections with The Mathematical Association. Some 23 theorems have been submitted, including the selections of Coxeter, Atiyah, Devlin and Singh. It is expected that the book will be published during 2002 to celebrate the centenary of Teaching Committee.

There is sufficient material for a second volume and the willingness of eminent mathematicians to contribute is such as to suggest that in four or five years time the whole exercise could be repeated should it prove successful.

Chris Pritchard (Chair)

123 Spreadsheets 14 – 16 Subcommittee

The subcommittee held its first meeting in January 2002, following the appointment of the chair in late 2001. It has set itself the task of producing a resource for comprehensive school teachers which it is hoped will be ready in time for the Annual Conference in 2003. The intention is to have five chapters: Introduction to Excel for mathematics teaching, Excel as a teacher resource, Excel for pupil explorations, Task-related Excel activities, Extended/advanced Excel activities. Any member who wishes to participate would be welcome.

Denis Almeida (Chair)

124 Problem Pages 11 – 16 Subcommittee

The aim of the subcommittee is to produce a book of a similar format to Problem Pages but aimed at students who are aged 11 – 16. The current situation is that there are around forty problems in a draft word-processed format. At the last meeting, on 10th December, it was felt that more Handling Data problems were needed. The majority of the present problems are numerical in nature and so a better balance needs to be achieved. A further twenty-five problems were discussed and these should be typed up and edited early in 2002.

The plan is to aim for a draft copy by the middle of 2002. The focus of the next meeting will be to decide whether any of the problems are to be rejected. The subcommittee would welcome any further problems, which can be sent to the chair.

Steve Drape (Chair)

125 BECTa Communicators Subcommittee

I am maintaining a watch on the BECTa web site. My impression is that the mathematics discussion area is one of the best used on the site, mainly because of the support of the ATM, and postings from David Wright of BECTa. However, it is not nearly as well used as it could be (with approximately 200 messages in 2 years, a few of which are very recent). The original intention of BECTa was to try to channel all mathematics discussion to the site. This would make it a very powerful tool for gathering professional opinion, as well as for sharing practice. There could be many reasons why it is not fulfilling its role. I suspect accessibility might be one: we are still not yet in the fortunate position that all teachers have access to the Internet at times to suit them. It is also possible that a number of teachers are still unaware of it.

It would be helpful to know of any members of the MA who use the site regularly. Equally useful would be the opinion of those who know of the site, or have visited it, but who don't use it. Further, if you are interested in helping to stimulate discussion on the site, please let me know.

Jane Imrie (Chair)

127 Mathematics Across the Curriculum Subcommittee

The subcommittee is preparing a publication which will raise awareness of mathematics in other subjects and give details of resources available. It is hoped that that contacts can be made with other subject associations.

Cathleen Brunt (Chair)

129 Post-16 Subcommittee

This subcommittee has been formed by the merger of the A/AS and FE subcommittees (subcommittees 64 and 28). The FE subcommittee had been relatively inactive for some time, although the very successful FE Forum at the 2001 Annual Conference led to the formation of this new subcommittee.

A report into the current situation for A/AS level Further Mathematics in schools and colleges was commissioned by the A/AS subcommittee in 2001. This is now complete, but its significance has been rather overtaken by the Curriculum 2000 disaster in AS Mathematics. The conclusions of the report were that student numbers were relatively stable into academic year 2000/2001, but there seems to have been an increase in numbers in large sixth forms and colleges, with a corresponding decrease in small sixth forms. It would have probably been better to have done the research a year later, so that the effects of the Curriculum 2000 issue could be evaluated.

The new subcommittee has met twice so far. There is much enthusiasm in the new group and exciting new projects have already been started. The subcommittee has been active in helping to frame the MA's response to the Curriculum 2000 issue. Work in progress includes:

• Posters for the A level Mathematics classroom
• A book on 'Applications of Mathematics'. This will be aimed at A-level Mathematics teachers and accessible to A-level students. It will use real examples from industry.

A future project will be a publication to address the mathematical misconceptions which often inhibit learning in A level Mathematics students.

Members of the subcommittee are organising several sessions on various post-16 issues for the 2002 Annual Conference.

Charlie Stripp (Chair)

Other subcommittees during 2001        

The subcommittees below have now concluded their work.

028  Mathematics in Further, Tertiary and Continuing Education
        This subcommittee has merged with Subcommittee 64 to form Subcommittee 129.
064  A and AS Level Mathematics
        This subcommittee has merged with Subcommittee 28 to form Subcommittee 129.
095  Scottish Interests
114  Starting as a Secondary Mathematics Teacher
        The subcommittee produced a new edition of Starting as a Secondary Mathematics Teacher which was published during 2001. Linda Moon (Chair) and other members of the subcommittee are thanked for their work in producing a completely fresh version of this book.
116  Mathematics Books for the School Library
119  Numeracy Across the Curriculum
        The subcommittee produced the handbook Numeracy Across the Curriculum which was published during 2001. Cathleen Brunt (Chair) and Mary Ledwick who formed this subcommittee are thanked for their work in producing this book.

LIBRARY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

The Committee met on four occasions under the chairmanship of Mike Price, with Marcia Murray as secretary and either Stephen Rawlinson or David Welding representing the Library of the University of Leicester, which accommodates all the Association's books and periodicals.

The sorting of the large 1990s backlog of acquisitions should be completed by the end of the summer term 2002. Checking for duplicates has been a slow, painstaking process involving both the card and electronic catalogues, and the catalogued books on the shelves. Much of the work has been undertaken by Mary Walmsley, with support from Mike Price and Howard Fay.

Duplicates are now being transferred in boxes to the Association's headquarters, where they are being offered in the first instance to members involved in Council or committee work. Offers of further donations to the Library can now be welcomed and will be investigated for their potential to enhance the collection.

The whole of the Special Collection of around 600 rarer books is being electronically catalogued as part of an externally funded University project, which should be completed in 2002. Links to the Association's website can then be developed. The backlog of 'new' acquisitions is being electronically catalogued in small batches by Library staff but some additional funding may be required to complete this work in 2002. The bulk of the MA collection is still only card catalogued and major funding in excess of £20,000 is being sought to transfer all the records to the electronic database.

A new Service Level Agreement between the Association and the University of Leicester has been negotiated and a final version was jointly signed by Timothy Hobbs, University of Leicester Librarian, and Bill Richardson, Chair of Council, on 18 January 2002. The Agreement specifies the arrangements for collection management, liaison, insurance, access and borrowing, including charges to members for postal loans. Members' well-defined entitlements can now be generally advertised.

The Association's collection is covered for insurance purposes by the Library's general policy, which does not include additional cover for the Special Collection, including the Wittgenstein material (see below). The possibility of additional insurance has been raised and a view from Council is awaited. Eleven Council members were given a personal introduction to the Association's Library by Mike Price at the University on Saturday 9 June 2001, with voluntary support from the Stack Services Librarian, Linda Huig.

The significance and future of the Wittgenstein material are still being investigated. Efforts to locate members of the Goodstein family have proved unsuccessful. An initial opinion was provided by Ian Smith of Bernard Quaritch Ltd., and a second opinion on the material is being obtained from staff at Trinity College, Cambridge, to which the material has been temporarily transferred (with additional insurance in transit). Ray Monk, a biographer of Wittgenstein, has also expressed an interest in evaluating the material back in Leicester. The possibility of extended loan, e.g. to Trinity College, and some resulting income for the Association have still to be resolved.

A review of the Association's Rules and Regulations, to accommodate the existence of the Library Management Committee and new Service Level Agreement, is being undertaken and changes should be in place in 2002. The arrangements for periodical exchanges with other organisations are now being managed from Association headquarters with the assistance of Mike Dampier from the University's Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. Some past failings in distribution of The Mathematical Gazette have been redressed.

Mike Price (Chair)

PRIMARY MATHS CHALLENGE

It really made the children think but that's not a problem!

Primary Mathematics Challenge, in November 2001, was taken by over 45000 pupils in 1175 schools (936 in England, 62 in Scotland, 98 in Wales and 77 in Northern Ireland - 2 abroad). Over 31000 certificates were provided for presentation in these schools. In addition, over 1000 pupils took the PMC Finals in February with 112 being awarded medals for their excellent performance. There was overwhelming positive comment. Some examples:

'A super challenge' : 'Good preparation for the maths challenges in secondary school' : 'The challenge stimulated children to think creatively' : 'A wonderful variety of questions' : 'The PMC has helped to boost confidence' : 'They loved getting their certificates in assembly' : 'I really liked the follow-up extension ideas' : 'Thank you for organising such a challenge'.

Thanks to a large grant from the Nuffield Foundation, there will be a mailing to all primary schools in the UK this year. The target for November 2002 is 2000 schools.

A book, giving the six PMC papers from November 1999 to February 2002, answers and notes, ideas for classroom extension work and full lists of award winners is now available from the MA.

The success of the PMC is down to hard work by the team members, Colin Abell, Robyn Pickles, Ruth Cullingworth and Trish Morgan, with wonderful support from Marcia Murray and the staff at the MA office. Thanks to all of them for their energy and talents!

We need more people on our two committees. Please contact me if you are interested and want to find out what we do.

Peter Bailey

PROBLEM BUREAU

Roger Wheeler has run the Bureau for 20 years and must have clocked up something like 1800 solutions provided over those years. It would appear that the number of solutions being requested annually is now more like 30, but I feel that the Bureau still provides a valuable service. I have stepped gingerly into Roger's shoes and trust that I can continue his fine work.

Since taking over in August, I have received requests from six people for 27 solutions. They have ranged from questions directly relevant to the P1 syllabus at AS Level to a fierce question from a Hungarian magazine. Fortunately, this latter one was eventually solved by the enquirer!

Members of the Association are welcome to send in any problems that can be thought of as pre-University and which are troubling them, or for which they would like a second opinion. No promises are made, but all will be looked at carefully, and hopefully, sympathetically. Requests may be sent via Headquarters.

Graham Howlett

HEADQUARTERS

We have seen yet another busy year at Headquarters. The recent initiatives, e.g. marketing campaigns, Primary Mathematics Challenge, increased exposure at exhibitions and conferences, increased hands-on with our own Annual Conference and the professional development initiatives, etc., etc., have all served to keep the hive humming! The end of October 2001 saw the departure of Graham Richards, who, after having thought long and hard, decided the time was right to accept the Christian Missionary Fellowship's offer of increased work with them. To replace Graham, Lisa Hall was employed and she started with the MA at the beginning of December 2001. Lisa works full-time for the Association and this means that we now have four full-time members of staff and two part-timers. I hope members have benefited from the increased 'human' contact time now available during the week. I am pleased to report that a further four rooms have been decorated and that the computers and software have been upgraded - we are now cooking with gas and can hold our own - electronically speaking! There is still further refurbishment to take place and most of this should be completed in the coming year. I am hoping this next year is going to be just as busy for HQ as the last; if we're busy it can only mean that the Association and its activities are going from strength to strength as well.

Membership, including direct subscriptions, to December 2001 is 5694.

At April 2002, the Headquarters Team of Six is:–
Office Manager - Marcia Murray, Bookkeeper - Linda Medhurst, Membership Secretary - Sally Bryan, Clerical Administrator - Lisa Marie Hall, Sales Administration - Ann Goddard, Clerical Assistant - Anne-Marie Brown

Marcia Murray (Office Manager)

RULES AND REGULATIONS

Herewith, notice of changes to the Regulations of Branches, which were approved at the meeting of Council on 9 March 2002. The new regulations can be viewed on webpage . Please contact Headquarters if you require a hard copy of the page. [Phone 0116 221 0013 Fax 0116 212 2835]

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 was reported last year, the current Chair of JMC is Professor Celia Hoyles of the London University Institute of Education and two prominent members of the MA Council are also office bearers: Sue Sanders is the JMC secretary and Adrian Oldknow its 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 attended all the meetings since April 2001 and I am considerably more comfortable than I was when I first attended. 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 was published and has been widely circulated. In the last of these reports, I referred to the proposal to establish the Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (ACME). This has now been done and its membership established. Sir Christopher Llewellyn Smith FRS, is the chairman and the other five members are: Sue Sanders; Chris Robson; Celia Hoyles; Chris Belsom and Annie Gammon. As its first priority, the committee is addressing Continuing Professional Development. I will close this report with the

ACME Mission Statement

The Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (ACME) is an independent committee established by the Joint Mathematical Council of the UK and the Royal Society, with the explicit support of all major mathematics organisations. ACME is funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation and acts as a single voice for the mathematical community, seeking to improve the quality of mathematics education in schools and colleges. Its role is to advise Government on issues such as the curriculum, assessment and the supply and training of mathematics teachers.

The International Olympiad in July 2001 was held in Washington DC, USA, where the UK team of six gained 1 silver and 3 bronze medals, with an Honourable Mention for a fifth student. For the 2001-2002 cycle of tests, the first round of the BMO was brought forward to December to avoid January exams, with the second round remaining in February, followed by the usual training for twenty students at Easter, hosted by Trinity College, Cambridge. In addition, the new UK Team Leader, Geoff Smith, together with Deputy Leader Richard Atkins, held further training camps for a squad of possible team members, at Bath in September 2001 and in Hungary in January 2002. This summer the UK hosts the IMO in Glasgow.

The UKMT met five times during the Annual Report period, with meetings in April, August, October January (2001) and March (2002). Amongst its more usual activities the UKMT has been working on the UK's hosting of the IMO in Glasgow this summer on the 24th and 25th July (2002), with the whole programme extending from 18th to 30th July.

The Junior Challenge attracted 236600 entrants (a 16.5% increase). The top 900 were invited to take part in the Junior Mathematical Olympiad. The Intermediate Challenge attracted 199930 entrants (a 17% increase), the top candidates were invited to take the European Kangaroo, and/or the International Invitational Intermediate Mathematics Competition as appropriate. The Senior Challenge attracted 53810 (a 7.8% increase), 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 first of the three, three-year cycles of the programme was completed this year. The main focus was on literacy in the mother tongue but literacy in science and mathematics was not ignored. The fact that England came very high in the international league tables in Mathematics and even higher in Science has received wide publicity with consequent national or at least political celebrations. So much better than the dreadful TIMSS results! In Germany, whose results were disappointing, a spirit of national crisis prevails and deep questions are being asked about the national education system etc.

The next three-year cycle will focus upon mathematical literacy and we hope that this focus will generate rather better questions than we saw in the first round. The next report is due in 2006 and I eagerly await the first batch of trial questiions!

Those seeking detailed results from the project may find detailed reports on the following website www.statistics.gov.uk/releases.

Use the internal search engine to look up PISA. The English report and exemplars of questions are amongst the items available.

The MA is an institutional member of this organisation, which offers a professional body for teachers in the areas not covered by Subject Associations and the Trade Unions. This means that members of the MA can join for the discounted rate of £12 per year, soon to increase to £15. Like the MA, they would like to attract as many members as possible from the profession.

During the last year, the website has been, and continues to be, considerably developed by Matthew Martin, a young teacher who recently joined. This also provides links to many other educational websites, including the Governmental ones.

The College of Teachers awards qualifications akin to postgraduate degrees and diplomas, which incorporate experience, insights and attendance on other courses. These can act as evidence for new pay awards and performance management reviews.

The College of Teachers also publishes, free to members, a regular newsletter and journal, Education Today. The recent edition contained several articles on both 'Learning and Teaching', and 'Governance and Management' from different countries. Articles appear which have a general, not subject specific, interest to teachers, for example the 'Rationale for Performance Management, or School Leaders: born to be made?' For more information, see the website at http://www.collegeofteachers.ac.uk or contact the membership secretary, Mrs Valerie Early, College of Teachers, 33 John St, LONDON, WC1N 2AT. Tel/fax 020 7404 2008. Email valerie@cot2.freeserve.co.uk

The mathematics team at QCA has two meetings each year with representatives of subject associations - AMET, NAMA, ATM and The Mathematical Association. Six representatives from the MA, Sue Sanders, Cathleen Brunt, Doug French, Trish Morgan, Robyn Pickles and Charlie Stripp, have attended meetings this year. Topics discussed have included: the implementation of the National Numeracy Strategy and the Key Stage 3 National Strategy for Mathematics, where it has been useful having Tim Coulson and Carole Macintyre, the respective directors, present at the meetings; assessment issues, which are a recurrent theme of deep concern to all the subject associations; and Post-16 developments, where we have been well represented at other QCA meetings trying to sort out the aftermath of Curriculum 2000.

The MA has continued its involvement with the European Federation of Associations of Mathematics Teachers (EFAMT), the incipient umbrella body for mathematics teachers' organisations in the EU.

There was a meeting in Paris on 30 June / 1 July 2001. I attended this meeting on behalf of the MA, and although this was my third such attendance, it was in fact the first representing the MA as an actual member of EFAMT. The meeting was again largely conducted in French, although APMEP was now also represented by Catherine Dufosse, who is happy to use both English and French. There is still a great deal of enthusiasm for the project, especially from Jean-Paul Bardoulat and Richard Cabassut of the French organisation APMEP, despite the again poor attendance (only the MA, APMEP, FESPM (Spain), and SBPMef (Belgium-francophone) were represented).

Much of this meeting was given over to the devising of a questionnaire (in both languages) designed to gather information about primary mathematics education in the various EU countries. There was great enthusiasm for this, despite some doubts about the methodological soundness of it. These doubts were acknowledged, but pragmatism ruled. I was later involved in quite extensive work arriving at an idiomatic translation of the questionnaire into English. Much discussion was also given over to the legal status of the organisation, and under which country's legal system it ought eventually to be properly established.

During this meeting, the MA representative was invited by APMEP as a guest to their annual meeting in Lille 29-31 October. In addition, two EFAMT meetings were arranged for 28 October in Lille. One of these concerned the Primary Questionnaire. The response rate had been very variable: Belgium 10, Germany 2, Spain 1, France 3, UK (etc.) 0. Much time was spent collating responses from those round the table (3 French, 1 Belgian, 1 Spanish, 1 UK). The meeting was conducted in French. The other was a discussion in French of the project "Web Up Maths" from CREEM (the French 'Centre for research and experimentation in the teaching of mathematics'). The idea was to set this up under the MINERVA initiative of SOCRATES.

The APMEP conference was an interesting experience of a very different style of conference. There were 800 participants from all over France and francophone Belgium. Long plenary lectures (in the conference centre/concert hall in Lille) in the mornings (90 min), including one by Nico Hirrt extolling the virtues of the free-market in education and pointing to its successful use in UK. Afternoons were workshops, a good 25-minute march away (in fine weather) in a local school where participants could speak at length about their experience. One was on teaching mathematics in English (now a French baccalaureate option) but not a word of English was uttered! The exhibitions/displays were interesting. The publishers/equipment exhibition had much emphasis on calculators etc. There were some nice posters from students about the calendar, golden ratio, history etc. and some nice 'manipulatives', including a very large set of six 1 + 4 + 9 + 16 blocks for the sume of i² – fun to assemble as an n(n + 1)(2n + 1) cuboid (– and not so easy, actually). Also there were exhibitions from local producers of specialities such as cheese, waffles, beer etc. – a novelty for me: perhaps the MA conferences could emulate this?

The Vice Chancellor presented the Annual Report, designed as a web document for the first time. Some highlights were:

• Loughborough had been successful for the third time in receiving the Queen's Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education (for Optical Engineering), a very rare achievement and never bettered.
• The Duke of Edinburgh had opened Loughborough's integrated Engineering Faculty buildings (a £14+ million investment with major funding from the Wolfson Foundation).
• Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP had opened the Ford Retail College on campus (a £10 million investment).
• Major ongoing sporting developments included building an Olympic standard pool (a £7 million investment, due to open July 2002), part of the English Institute of Sport Development Programme.
• On research the University has done creditably well in maintaining a strong research position at a time when many universities were advancing forward quite significantly.
• One area of research to hit the news concerned driver fatigue, investigated by Prof Jim Horne and colleagues of Human Sciences. He had served as expert witness in a much-publicised trial concerning a vehicle that ran onto a railway line resulting in a fatal train crash.
• Loughborough continued to excel in the teaching quality assessments with the University typically ranking in the top five or better, including first equal in the Guardian league table.
• The students again excelled in raising funds for local and national charities, achieving £167,000 in the year.
• In community action, some 500 student volunteers worked on projects for the locality.
• Sporting achievements were outstanding, as usual. The University men and women were again BUSA champions (for the 21st time and 23rd time respectively).

LIST OF BODIES AND OUR REPRESENTATIVES

(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 objectives 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 14 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 for part or all of the year were:

Dr S. E. Sanders, Mr E. R. Ashley, Mr P. Metcalf, Mr S. Abbott, Mr W. P. Richardson M.B.E., Miss S G Jameson, Mr P. Bailey, Mr N. Bibby, Mr D. Carter, Ms P. M. Morgan, Mr M. Bailey, Prof. J. Berry, Mr M. Mudge, Mr R. Barbour, Mr D. French, Mr D. Hodgson, Mrs R. Pickles, Dr. W. Brakes, Mr M. Sanders, Mr C. Stripp, Prof. A. Oldknow, Dr. P. Harris, Dr A Barnard, Ms A Gould, Mr Barry Lewis, Mr Michael Fox.

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

An elected Council monitors the business of the Association. There are three Officers (Chair, Secretary and Treasurer), elected annually (to each office) who are not allowed to hold office for more than five years; there is a President, President Designate and Immediate Past President, who each hold office for a period of one year; seven Council members each act as the chair to a particular committee, who may serve one term of four years within that office and there are nine members without office, who may serve two terms of three years. The Association's members, at the Annual General Meeting, elect all members of Council, with the exception of the President, who is elected by Council.

The trustees have examined the major strategic, business and operational risks that the charity faces and confirm that systems have been established to enable regular reports to be produced so that necessary steps can be taken to lessen these risks.

It is the policy of the Association to maintain sufficient general funds to cover management, administration and support costs, and to enable it to respond to any further approved projects, which arise from time to time.

The charity achieved a surplus of £93,907 for the year (2000 £43,722).

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:

1. £10,000 to the Buildings Maintenance Fund for the upkeep and maintenance of the headquarters' building.

2. £23,250 to the Website Development Fund.

3. £5,000 to the Life Membership Fund.

4. £24,000 to the Conferences Fund.

5. £5,000 to the IMO.

6. £25,000 to the MA Development & Special Projects Fund

A resolution proposing the re-appointment of PKF as auditors was proposed and agreed at the Annual General Meeting.

The principal address of The Mathematical Association is

259 London Road, Leicester LE2 3BE United Kingdom.

By order of the Council

Chair of Council, 5 April 2002

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.