Maths: where did it all go right?

This year's Leaving Cert results once again triggered familiar concerns about falling standards in maths. But one Cork school is bucking the trend in spectacular style. At Sydney Hill, gifted teaching and fresh thinking is delivering outstanding results

AS THE outcome of this year's Leaving Cert was being reported around the country, one remarkable clutch of results stood out.

It came courtesy of the Christian Brothers College, Sydney Hill, in Cork . Among 131 Leaving Cert students, there were 32 higher-level As. And no less than 24 A1s.

Just consider the national comparison. Overall, 17 per cent of Leaving Cert maths students did the higher level paper in 2008. In CBC Cork, the figure was 52 per cent.

Nationally, just two per cent of maths students secured a higher level A. At Sydney Hill, 24 percent achieved this grade.

This isn't a fluke either. The school has been producing similar results for at least five years.

So amid all the national gloom about standards in maths, where did it all go right at Sydney Hill?

Set high on a leafy hill, overlooking the city, CBC Cork admittedly has a lot going for it. It's an all-boys', fee-paying school of 800 students with a further 200 in its junior school. Facilities are good; the vaguely rubbery smell in the air comes from a new all-weather pitch outside the school, made largely from recycled tyres.

Teachers are quick to acknowledge the advantages of their situation. "The presumption is there among our students that they will go on to third level as many of their parents did. That is a big factor in their motivation and expectations. It is a great advantage as a teacher if your students expect to do well," explains Ann Barry-Murphy, head of maths in the school.

Resourcing is good. There are interactive white boards and access to ICT facilities if they need them. Support for students with special needs, as well as teachers who teach them, is excellent. Disciplinary problems are rarely serious and the school gets a huge amount of parental support in this respect.

Essentially all of this boils down to the fact that, while not without their problems, the teachers in CBC Cork, largely have the privilege of getting down to the business of teaching without struggling with many of the day-to-day problems their less fortunate counterparts have to deal with.

That said, there must be more to it. There are lots of schools with great resources and students from good homes, but many of them still have more ordinary level maths classes than they perhaps should. More than half of Leaving Cert students in CBC Cork take the higher level paper. Practically half of those again get As. What is the secret?

The process begins in first year. "From the start, we emphasise the importance of maths and science. Those subjects can open up so many careers," says Barry-Murphy. "Naturally, some students are not strong in those areas, and that's fine, but we try to show them how these subjects can benefit them." All students do higher-level maths in first year. Classes are of mixed ability and while not everybody will end up doing the higher-level paper, most will.

Students are again encouraged to try the higher-level course after Junior Cert. Transition year is compulsory, and students get a taster of maths and the different sciences then. The school has also experienced huge success in science. Again, bucking the national trend, physics is the most popular science subject at Leaving Cert level.

Ability grouping, or streaming, kicks in at this point. "When you have a weak student alongside a stronger student, you don't know which level to aim at. You're not really serving either group properly. Ability grouping has its disadvantages, but we have certainly found that the pros outweigh the cons in that respect," says senior maths teacher Donal O'Mahony.

Teachers are supremely organised and take advantage of the naturally competitive nature of their students. The use of continuous assessment is popular as a means of keeping an eye on students' progress. Common tests at Christmas and summer keep teachers in line with each other and give them an idea of how the year is progressing overall.

Communication is key. "There is great co-operation between departments," says Frank Cotter, head of physics and teacher of applied maths. "If I need students to have covered a certain element of the maths course for whatever I'm going to do next in my applied maths classes, I can go to the maths teachers and they are very obliging in covering it before they had perhaps planned to. It's great to be able to do that within a school."

Applied maths, often a subject that students do after school as an extra subject, is on the timetable in CBC Cork. "That's unusual," says Cotter. "It's another advantage for the students who do the subject."

Maths and science permeate the extra-curricular life of the school. Maths quizzes, the Prism test, science competitions are all means of bringing the subjects to life. "You see the reaction of the students when one lad knows more than they do," says Barry-Murphy. "You know that they're running back to learn the bits they've missed out on."

"Huge credit is due to the students themselves," says O'Mahony. "There's no chasing and no harassing. They're ambitious and they want to get on."

While the success in maths and science has been remarkable, and high results permeate across the range of subjects in the school, both students and teachers acknowledge that generating the same interest in other subjects such as languages is more of a challenge. High results in those subjects are a triumph on the part of teachers who are faced with teaching subjects in which marks may not be as certain as in the more concrete arenas of maths and applied maths.

"I think if a subject achieves a certain status in a school, students will want to do it. There are queues for the physics classes at the beginning of the school year," says Jane O'Connell, senior science teacher. "I think almost more credit is due to teachers who still manage to get the high results in Irish for example, when maths and science are so high in the students' minds."

Of course, success breeds success, and students who are talented mathematicians may well be attracted to a school like CBC Cork more than another. The more talented students there are, the better the results.

Teachers warn against focusing too much on the As. "Look, we just expect students to do their best," says Barry Murphy. "Expectations are high, but they must be realistic." Cotter says: "The structures in the school are excellent and the vision of fulfilling your potential is there from day-one. It's a friendly place and the resources are excellent. There's massive back-up and there's nobody disturbing your class. Put all of that together and you won't go too far wrong. That's why we are getting the results."

Model schooling: CBC Cork

Sydney Hill, Wellington Rd, Cork www.cbccork.ie

Founded in 1888, CBC Cork is an all-boys, fee-paying school. It's a school with a keen rugby tradition, but also provides sports such as golf, basketball, rowing and hockey. Transition year is compulsory, and teachers believe it plays a role in the school's academic success. Famous alumni include rugby player Donncha O'Callaghan, Hugh Coveney, former TD and Edward Walsh, founder and president of UL.

Educating the numbers: The proposed solution

REACTING to the everdecreasing numbers doing higher level maths, the Department of Education and Science has decided to introduce an initiative called Project Maths into the Leaving Cert maths course. Project Maths has just been introduced on a pilot basis in 24 schools. The first two of five syllabus strands will be introduced for incoming first year and fifth-year students.

This development of Project Maths will see much greater emphasis being placed on students' understanding of mathematics concepts, with increased use of contexts and applications that will enable students to relate mathematics to everyday experience.

There will be a focus on developing students' problem-solving skills as well. Along with the changes in curriculum, there will be changes in the way mathematics is assessed, to reflect the different emphasis on understanding and skills in the teaching. The intention is to introduce Project Maths fully to schools by 2010.

Reaction among maths teachers has been very mixed. "They're looking to encourage people into higher-level maths, but I think it's going to have the reverse effect," says maths expert and founder of the Ballinteer Institute John Brennan.

"They made the maths course easier before and the problem only got worse."