Revitalised mathematics syllabus put to the test

THE first examination of a maths syllabus designed to reverse waning student interest in the subject will be taken by 1,800 students this morning.

Leaving Certificate students at 24 schools have been learning part of the maths course through a revised teaching system under the Project Maths banner, branded as the way forward in boosting proficiency and getting more school leavers to take the subject at higher level.

Fewer than one-in-six of the 53,500 candidates sitting Leaving Certificate maths are expected to have opted for the honours papers, though the official figures will not be known until the State Examinations Commission issues results in mid-August. But for the students at schools teaching Project Maths, interest in the subject is anticipated to be higher, with the end target of bringing the numbers taking higher-level Leaving Certificate maths nationally up to 30%.