The Surrey Maths Coach

05/09/2026

“I didn’t get picked. Again.”
“Why do I even bother going to training?”

“I finally got to play… and everyone said I was rubbish.”

“I worked SO hard for that Maths test and my friend still did better than me. She didn’t even revise.”

“It’s just not fair.”

“Mummy… why are things always so hard for me?”

If you’ve ever heard a child say something like this, this is worth watching. ❤️

It really struck a chord with me.

For all the children who don’t get picked first for the team — but still turn up to training and matches, knowing they might spend much of it on the sidelines.

For the ones who show up to the extra revision class because Maths isn’t the easy subject for them.

For the ones who have to work twice as hard for the grade that seems to come effortlessly to somebody else.

It can feel desperately unfair when you’re young.

But something incredibly valuable is being built in those moments: resilience, determination, humility, courage — and the ability to keep going when things don’t come easily.

As a mum and a teacher, these are so often the young people I quietly think will do brilliantly in life.

Because eventually, being the person who knows how to keep showing up when something is hard becomes a superpower. ❤️

Keep showing up. It matters.

Thanks for this one, Bear. Love you! 😂❤️
Bear Grylls

— The Surrey Maths Coach

20/08/2026

To the mathematicians and the maths-haters.

The confident ones and the quiet ones.

The panickers, the avoiders, the chancers and the dancers.

The students who relished every problem—and those who quietly groaned whenever I shared my screen. You know who you are! 🤣

On our first morning in France, I woke up to the most wonderful messages from my GCSE students.

Another year of amazing results—but no result is ever just a number. Behind every grade is a child, an individual and a journey that has not always been easy.

The questions that simply would not work.

The disappointing mock results.

The lessons at school when confidence disappeared.

The grade that made someone bite their lip in class and desperately hope nobody asked what they had got.

And then came the determination to try again.

Today, I am celebrating far more than numbers. I am celebrating the long road travelled, the confidence rebuilt and the young people who kept going—even when they weren’t sure they could.

Working with them and travelling part of that road alongside them has been an enormous privilege. I couldn’t be prouder.

These are the messages that made my morning:

“I got my 7 in Maths! So happy—I couldn’t have done it without your help 💕 xx”

“In my Year 10 mocks, I got a 4. Today I got a 7! I don’t think I could have got there without you.”

“She passed Maths with a 5—she (and we!) are delighted! Thanks so much for all your help.”

“6 in Maths—thanks to you, Laura!”

“I got an 8 with 158/200, which I’m ridiculously happy with. Thank you for all your help—you were awesome!”

“Laura!!!! I got a 9!!!! Thank you so, so much!”

To every one of my students: you did it. Be very proud of yourselves. I certainly am. 🥹🎉

Laura
The Surrey Maths Coach

27/06/2026

13/06/2026

The latest figures show that more than 538,000 children now have an EHCP and over 1.8 million pupils in England are identified as having special educational needs.

I suspect some people will look at those numbers and conclude that there are simply too many plans, too many diagnoses and too many parents asking for support. That the answer is to tighten the criteria and expect more children to fit into a traditional mainstream model.

But I think that misses the point entirely.

Parents do not create need. They do not create autism, ADHD, learning difficulties, speech and language needs, sensory differences or the many other challenges children face every day in school. Those needs exist whether we acknowledge them or not.

What these figures really show is that more children are finally being recognised and understood.

At the same time, schools are being asked to support increasingly complex needs without the funding, staffing and specialist provision required to do it properly. Families are forced into exhausting battles to secure support that should already be available. Many win at Tribunal, only to find themselves fighting again to ensure the provision written into a legally binding plan is actually delivered.

That cannot be right.

Perhaps the lesson from these figures is not that we have become too generous in identifying need, but that we are finally beginning to accept something that should have been obvious all along: children are different.

They learn differently. They communicate differently. They experience the world differently.

The problem is not the children.

The problem is a system that was designed around the idea that one model of education should work for almost everyone.

The answer is not to make children fit the system.

The answer is to build a system that is capable of fitting the child.

20/05/2026

Good luck to all parents out there coping with exam time at home! ☘️xx

17/05/2026

Maths anxiety starts LONG before the exam hall.

The fear of getting it “wrong” holds so many children back.

When everyone else seems to understand it straight away…
When you feel like the only person in the classroom confused…
When you start believing you’re just “not a maths person”.

Feeling behind in maths can be incredibly lonely for a child.

One of the biggest challenges in maths is continuing to believe in yourself when things don’t click immediately.

Please remember:

You do NOT have to be in Set 1 to achieve an excellent grade.

You do NOT have to “get it” instantly to succeed.

And making mistakes is not failure — it is a vital part of learning.

Maths is built through trying again.
Through practise.
Through getting stuck, asking questions, and refusing to give up.

Sometimes progress feels slow.
Sometimes it feels invisible.

But confidence, understanding and resilience are often growing quietly underneath the surface.

So keep going.
Keep trying.
Do not let one difficult lesson, one mock, or one bad day convince you that you “can’t do maths”.

You absolutely can.

Because confidence in maths starts here.

15/05/2026

How many of us can relate to this? Or have seen colleagues at work try to juggle this.

15/05/2026

To all the mums lying awake worrying about their child…
The ones wondering if they’ll ever pass GCSE Maths.
The ones sitting in meetings about behaviour, anxiety, suspensions, school refusal, autism, ADHD or children who feel completely misunderstood…

I see you. ❤️

Some of the brightest, funniest and kindest children I’ve ever taught are the ones who struggle most within the school system.

A bad week does not define a child.
A suspension does not define a child.
And being misunderstood certainly does not define a child.

Sometimes these children don’t need another lecture, consequence or label.

They need someone calm.
Someone safe.
Someone who believes in them.

That’s where I come in.

Not just as a Maths teacher or examiner… but as someone who genuinely cares about rebuilding confidence as well as grades.

Piece by piece, we put them back together again.

Because behind every child who is struggling is a child who still wants to feel successful, accepted and proud of themselves.

And I will never stop believing that they can. ❤️

11/05/2026

Wishing all my Year 11 students the very best as GCSE season begins.

You’ve worked incredibly hard and I’m genuinely proud of the progress each of you has made — not just in maths, but in confidence too.

Now go and show them what you can do 💙

And as always, I’m here for any last-minute questions or exam nerves right up until the end xx

11/04/2026

Focused. Targeted. Ready 📈💪