Evaluating the MEI 'Enabling Access to Further Mathematics' Project

Mathematics in Education and Industry (MEI), with funding from Gatsby Technical Education Projects (GTEP), ran the "Enabling Access to Further Mathematics" project from 2000 to 2003. This pilot project was designed to provide AS- and A-level students with additional opportunities to study Further Mathematics, through the use of distance-learning materials. This was in response to the dramatic decline in the numbers of students taking Further Mathematics over the last four decades. An independent evaluation of the project was commissioned by GTEP, and this paper describes the methodology of the evaluation and its findings. In addition to highlighting the benefits of the project for the students and institutions involved, the paper discusses how the project could be developed in the future, based on the issues and difficulties raised in the evaluation.