Maths by Ian

This week some of my A Level students will be getting their results and next week it's the turn of those who have waited for weeks for GCSE results. To all my students and all those who have been waiting, well done, believe in yourself.

You got this. Good luck to all!

It's that time of year again to open my waiting list for 2027. As usual you can get in touch either through DM to the page or via email.

This year also don't forget that MBI is now part of a new business partnership with English by Laura. If you have young people in need of a boost in English and Maths now you can find it in one place. Get in touch for more details.

Impressive results coming from National Numeracy in their impact report on activity around this years National Numeracy Day.

A staggering 1.6 million actions taken to improve numeracy in 2026 being just one of them.

If you have 15 minutes and time to sit and read something inspiring about what happens when good people put their mind to helping others, please do give it a read. Well done to the team who work so hard to make this happen.

📷 Impact report cover: National Numeracy
https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/national_numeracy_day/2026/National-Numeracy-Day-Impact-Report-2026.pdf

Maps aren't something we use much of these days, we've got smartphones to tell us which corner to turn and sat navs to get us to where we want to be. But what if you're planning an adventure, a holiday or end up on a camping trip with no WiFi?

When we look at a map we maybe don't think of maths straight away, but it's there.

The skills needed to estimate travel time, or the distance from point A to point B and how scale makes a difference to those calculations are all based in maths.

You use these skills every time you work out or measure how long a hike is, how long it might take and if it's possible to travel to and then get to the top of a mountain in Wales in one day.

Seems we're all secret mathematicians, don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

On July 17th 1981, Queen Elizabeth II opened the Humber Bridge. It's hard to remember life before it was there.

The bridge took 9 years to complete and at the peak of construction around 1,000 people were working on it. An accepted part of Hull and the Humber now it represents the region in so many ways.

Have to add a side-note - just imagine the maths that went into the design and construction!

Happy 45th birthday Humber Bridge 🎂

Every year around this time I get a lot of enquiries about A Level tuition.

As GCSEs end thoughts turn to what comes next; securing the grades needed for university and achieving the best possible outcomes. There's a jump between GCSE and A Level with differences in topics making additional practice and tuition worthwhile.

Surds, trigonometry, vectors, circle theorems and complex fractions. I love em, and I'm ready to help your young person love them too.

Imagine one monthly fee that you can budget ahead for, with as much practice as anyone can handle overseen by expert guidance.

That's me, and that's my Complete Maths package. Get in touch for more information or visit my website.

🐝It's a bee, but where's the maths in that?

Bees want to store as much honey as possible and they want to produce the least amount of wax to make it happen. They achieve this efficiency with maths (and physics).

They use hexagons because there's no space lost, it's all used. It makes a stable structure (consistent spacing) and the internal angles add up to 120 degrees (stay with me) and this distributes pressure across the structure ensuring it's strength.

How do we use similar maths skills every day?

Every time we pack a suitcase, organise kitchen cupboards and load the car boot. Because sometimes maths is about problem solving thinking skills not just learning equations.

I will be forever amazed by these wonderful little creatures, natures engineers.

It's here - the end of exam season. WELL DONE to my students, and ALL students for making it through a tough exam season. Pack away your revision and enjoy your summer.

Well done to the families and carers too for all those extra cups of tea and early morning wake ups.

To my colleagues who are on the final stretch of the year, the break is almost upon us, not long to go!

I'm not sure how National Numeracy Day was nearly a full month ago! For anyone who missed it, it's an important day that raises awareness around numeracy. A nationwide campaign that I'm proud to get behind every year.

This year was extra special as there was an opportunity for me to spend some time with the wonderful people of Hull and the Humber, to capture some really insightful conversations about how maths can make us all feel sometimes.

Thank you to National Numeracy for the opportunity, thank you to the brilliant people of Hull and thank you to everyone who has reached out since to chat about it.

And finally - in case you missed this too - I was on the local radio. Tune in and listen back and help me keep these conversations going across our region.

Listen here - I'm on around 1 hour and 45 mins in 🎧
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002w6bl

For more about National Numeracy and how you could get involved: https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/training-and-workshops/numeracy-champions

Maths really is all around us. We use it every day often without really thinking about how good we actually are at it.

Take shopping in supermarkets for example:
We have to work out percentages to see what 50% off is
We have to estimate if what is in the basket is under the £10 we've got to pay for it
We work out if a 4 pint of milk is cheaper than 2 x 2 pints of milk

We can often feel like maths was never a strong subject or that we didn't enjoy it, but we all are more practiced in it than we realise.

When did you last work out whether something was the best value, to make sure your money covered what was in your shopping basket?