LONDONLONDON MATHEMATICALMATHEMATICAL SOCIETYSOCIETY NEWSLETTER No. 429 October 2013 Society MeetingsSociety 2013 ELECTIONS voting the deadline for receipt of Meetings TO COUNCIL AND votes is 7 November 2013. and Events Members may like to note that and Events NOMINATING the LMS Election blog, moderated 2013 by the Scrutineers, can be found at: COMMITTEE http://discussions.lms.ac.uk/ Thursday 31 October The LMS 2013 elections will open on elections2013/. Good Practice Scheme 10th October 2013. LMS members Workshop, London will be contacted directly by the Future elections page 15 Electoral Reform Society (ERS), who Members are invited to make sug- Friday 15 November will send out the election material. gestions for nominees for future LMS Graduate Student In advance of this an email will be elections to Council. These should Meeting, London sent by the Society to all members be addressed to Dr Penny Davies 1 page 4 who are registered for electronic who is the Chair of the Nominat- communication informing them ing Committee (nominations@lms. Friday 15 November that they can expect to shortly re- ac.uk). Members may also make LMS AGM, London ceive some election correspondence direct nominations: details will be page 5 from the ERS. published in the April 2014 News- Monday 16 December Those not registered to receive letter or are available from Duncan SW & South Wales email correspondence will receive Turton at the LMS (duncan.turton@ Regional Meeting, all communications in paper for- lms.ac.uk). Swansea mat, both from the Society and 18-21 December from the ERS. Members should ANNUAL GENERAL LMS Prospects in check their post/email regularly in MEETING Mathematics, Durham October for communications re- page 11 garding the elections. The Annual General Meeting of With respect to the election it- the Society will be held at 3.00 pm 2014 self, there are seven candidates on Friday 15 November 2013 in proposed for five vacancies for the Jeffrey Hall at the Institute of Friday 28 February Member-at-Large. One candidate Education, 20 Bedford Way, London Mary Cartwright has been nominated for the new WC1H 0AL. The business shall be: Lecture, York role of Member-at-Large (Librar- 1. Elections to Council and Monday 31 March ian). Four candidates have been Nominating Committee Northern Regional proposed for two vacancies in the 2. Report of the President Meeting, Durham membership of Nominating Com- 3. Report of the Treasurer: mittee. The slates and candidate a. adoption of the Trustees biographies for the election can Report for 2012/13 NEWSLETTER be found on the LMS website at b. appointment of Auditors ONLINE:NEWSLETTER www.lms.ac.uk/about/council/ 4. Presentation of De Morgan med- newsletter.lms.ac.ukONLINE: lms-election-2013. al and certificates to LMS Prize newsletter.lms.ac.uk For both electronic and postal winners LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No. 429 October 2013 It is hoped that as many members as pos- ANNUAL LMS (STEM) education. The letter is available at Full tables of results are available on the sible will be able to attend. The Annual Gen- http://tinyurl.com/p3kxbuv. Joint Council for Qualifications website at eral Meeting will be followed by a Society SUBSCRIPTION 2013-14 www.jcq.org.uk/examination-results/a-levels. meeting, with the Presidential address, given Members are reminded that their annual Destinations of leavers from higher educa- by Graeme Segal and a lecture by Simon Don- subscription, including payment for publica- tion institutions GCSE results aldson (see page 5). tions, for the period November 2013-October The Higher Education Statistics Agency The number of GCSE mathematics entries 2014 is due on 1 November 2013 and should (HESA) has published a report presenting has risen by 12.5% compared with last year’s Fiona Nixon be paid no later than 1 December 2013. findings from the Destinations of Leavers entries. 760,170 students sat the exam in Executive Secretary In September, the Society sent a remind- from Higher Education (DLHE) Longitudinal 2013 compared with 675,789 in 2012. In oth- er to all members to renew their subscrip- Survey conducted during winter 2012/13, a er STEM subjects, entries for Biology, Chem- LMS Newsletter tion for 2013-14. If you have not received bi-annual survey that was first conducted istry and Physics rose by 5%, 4.4% and 2.1% http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk a reminder, please email membership@lms. for the cohort of leavers from 2002/03. The respectively. ac.uk. survey was carried out among the cohort of Full tables of results are available on the Editorial office: London Mathematical Society, Further information about subscription students who completed a higher education Joint Council for Qualifications website at De Morgan House, 57–58 Russell Square, Lon- rates for 2013-14 and a subscription form may course at a higher education institution in www.jcq.org.uk/examination-results/gcses. don WC1B 4HS (t: 020 7637 3686; f: 020 7323 also be found on the Society’s website: www. the UK in 2008/09. The aim of the survey was 3655) lms.ac.uk/content/paying-your-subscription to collect information on the activities of UK Consultation responses Articles: send articles to [email protected] Please note all members are asked to com- and EU domiciled leavers who completed a The LMS has responded to the Department Events calendar: updates and corrections to plete and return the subscription form as it higher education course in 2008/09, approxi- for Education consultations on GCSE subject [email protected] also requests permission to include members’ mately 3.5 years after leaving higher edu- content and assessment objectives. The LMS Advertising: for rates and guidelines see www.lms.ac.uk/newsletter/ratecard.html details in the Members’ Handbook 2014. cation. The report provides subject specific response is now available on the LMS website 2 General Editor: Mr A.J.S. Mann The Society encourages payment by direct information. More information is available at http://tinyurl.com/pzqfg4g. All responses 3 ([email protected]) debit. If you do not already pay by this meth- at www.hesa.ac.uk/content/view/2939/. can be viewed at the National curriculum re- Reports Editor: Professor R.A. Wilson od and would like to set up a direct debit view: new programmes of study and attain- ([email protected]) (this requires a UK bank account), please Higher education in facts and figures ment targets from September 2014, which is Reviews Editor: Professor D. Singerman visit the LMS website to download the direct Universities UK has produced its annual sta- available at http://tinyurl.com/olp2f8p. ([email protected]) debit mandate form: www.lms.ac.uk/sites/de tistics publication presenting statistics relat- The Society has also responded to the Of- Administrative Editor: S.M. Oakes fault/files/Membership/Direct%20Debit%20 ing to students, staff and finance for the qual consultation on GCSE reform. The re- ([email protected]) Form.pdf. whole of the UK higher education sector. sponse is available on the LMS website at lms. Typeset by the LMS at De Morgan House; The Society also accepts payment by The publication is available at http://tinyurl. ac.uk/policy/reports-and-policy-submissions. printed by Holbrooks Printers Ltd. cheque or credit/debit card. com/pwyq9fc. More data tables, with subject Publication dates and deadlines: published specific data, are available at http://tinyurl. Improving post-16 mathematics skills monthly, except August. Items and advertise- Elizabeth Fisher com/nn6shtq. The Secretary of State for Education, Michael ments by the first day of the month prior to Membership & Activities Officer SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES Gove, has written to a number of bodies and publication, or the closest preceding working royal societies about improving mathemat- day. Notices and advertisements are not ac- MATHEMATICS Popularity of mathematics continues to ics skills for 16 to 18-year-olds. The letter is cepted for events that occur in the first week of grow available at http://tinyurl.com/o64wxxm. the publication month. POLICY ROUND-UP The number of A-level mathematics entries News items and notices in the Newsletter may OTHER be freely used elsewhere unless otherwise September 2013 across the UK is up 2.7% on last year, with 88,060 students sitting the exam. Figures re- Women in STEM consultation stated, although attribution is requested when HIGHER EDUCATION reproducing whole articles. Contributions to leased by the Joint Council for Qualifications The LMS (through CMS) has responded the Newsletter are made under a non-exclusive STEM education also show that: to the House of Commons Science and licence; please contact the author or photog- The Council for Science and Technology • A-level further mathematics has contin- Technology Select Committee inquiry on rapher for the rights to reproduce. The LMS (the Prime Minister's top level, independ- ued to increase in popularity, with entries Women in STEM Careers. The response is cannot accept responsibility for the accuracy of ent advisory board on science and technol- rising by 4.5% (to 13,821) available on the LMS website at lms.ac.uk/ information in the Newsletter. Views expressed ogy policy issues) has written a public letter • AS mathematics entries rose by 1.5% (to policy/reports-and-policy-submissions. do not necessarily represent the views or policy to education secretary Michael Gove making 150,787) of the London Mathematical Society. recommendations on topics within science, • AS further mathematics entries rose by Dr John Johnston Charity registration number: 252660. technology, engineering, and mathematics 7.9% (to 22,601) Joint Promotion of Mathematics LMS NEWSLETTER http://newsletter.lms.ac.uk [email protected] No.