This Week in Maths – Sunday 24 May 2026
A long one this week, because there is a lot worth saving.
The aim of this round-up is simple: save teachers, parents, carers and tutors from having to do 200 clicks across 200 maths education sites.
What’s new this week
- GCSE revision now needs to move from Paper 1 reaction to Paper 2 and Paper 3 planning.
The worst half-term plan is “revise everything”.
A better one:
- what did Paper 1 expose?
- which target skills matter most before the next paper?
- where does calculator fluency need tightening?
- which methods need refreshing?
- what accuracy habits are costing marks?
Official timetable links:
JCQ: https://www.jcq.org.uk/exams-office/key-dates-and-timetables/
AQA: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/mathematics/gcse/mathematics-8300/key-dates
Pearson Edexcel: https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/mathematics-2015.html
OCR: https://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/gcse/mathematics-j560-from-2015/
- NCETM’s May updates are worth reading properly.
The primary round-up is useful for post-SATs thinking: transition, rich tasks and keeping pupils doing meaningful mathematics.
The secondary round-up and related features are useful for departments trying to think beyond exam-season firefighting.
NCETM news and features:
https://www.ncetm.org.uk/news-features/
Primary round-up:
https://www.ncetm.org.uk/news/primary-round-up-may-2026/
Secondary round-up:
https://www.ncetm.org.uk/news/secondary-round-up-may-2026/
Strengthening secondary maths:
https://www.ncetm.org.uk/features/strengthening-secondary-maths-reflections-from-my-first-weeks-as-director-for-secondary-mathematics/
- Maths Hubs CPD for 2026/27 is already a summer-term job.
If you are a HoD or numeracy lead, now is a good time to ask:
Who needs subject knowledge support?
Who needs intervention or mastery support?
What should be booked before September becomes urgent?
Maths Hubs CPD:
https://www.ncetm.org.uk/news/over-30-maths-hubs-cpd-opportunities-for-202627-now-available/
- EEF/grouping evidence is a better conversation than “setting or mixed attainment?”
The EEF/UCL study is not a simple win for either camp. It is a prompt to ask better department questions:
Do pupils move groups when evidence changes?
Do all groups get access to ambitious mathematics?
Are expectations quietly lower for some pupils?
Who teaches which groups?
How are fluency gaps diagnosed and followed up?
EEF Student Grouping Study:
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/projects/student-grouping-study
EEF mathematics evidence review:
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/evidence-reviews/mathematics-in-key-stages-2-and-3
- National Numeracy Day has passed. The useful question is what happens next.
Confidence with numbers is not built in one day.
For parents and carers:
- talk about numbers in shopping, cooking, sport, travel and time
- avoid “I was never a maths person” as the default story
- use short practice, not long stressful sessions
- notice small wins
National Numeracy Day:
https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/numeracyday
Helping children:
https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/helping-children
Latest from sites we scanned
Resourceaholic’s “Things to do now for September” is a useful read for maths leaders before the final half-term squeeze:
https://www.resourceaholic.com/2026/05/things-to-do-now-for-september.html
Corbettmaths GCSE Summer 2026 page is useful for exam-season practice:
https://corbettmaths.com/2026/05/13/gcse-maths-summer-2026/
Maths Genie GCSE revision:
https://www.mathsgenie.co.uk/gcse.php
White Rose Education:
https://whiteroseeducation.com/
NRICH:
https://nrich.maths.org/
Cambridge International exam update for international readers:
https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/exam-administration/cambridge-exams-officers-guide/update-a-s-level-mathematics-june-2026-exam-series/
Useful links to save
Dr Frost Maths:
https://www.drfrost.org/
MathsBot:
https://mathsbot.com/
Transum:
https://www.transum.org/
Variation Theory:
https://variationtheory.com/
Cambridge Mathematics Espresso:
https://www.cambridgemaths.org/espresso/
BBC Bitesize Maths:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zqhs34j
AMSP:
https://amsp.org.uk/
Mathematical Association:
https://www.m-a.org.uk/
Association of Teachers of Mathematics:
https://www.atm.org.uk/
One Numeracy Ninjas note
The theme running through this week’s round-up is target skills.
After SATs, between GCSE papers, or while planning next year’s intervention, the useful question is:
Which small skills are holding pupils back, and how will they see progress?
Numeracy Ninjas is built around short Skill Checks, self-marking, target skills and visible progress.
Free Samurai Sums games:
https://www.numeracyninjas.org/samurai-sums/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=2026-05-weekly-roundup&utm_content=parent-number-confidence
What have we missed this week?
Drop a useful maths link, blog, resource, research paper, CPD opportunity or parent-friendly maths idea for next week’s round-up.