I was sorry to read that Hannah J Davies had such an uninspiring experience of maths lessons at school that she chose GCSE maths as a benchmark for the dullness of David Tennant’s new ITV programme (Genius Game: David Tennant’s brainiac gameshow is even duller than doing GCSE maths, 26 April).
As a maths teacher working hard to build pupil confidence and enjoyment in this wonderful, creative subject, I was dismayed to read yet another casual dismissal. Like any subject, maths may not be everyone’s favourite, but to suggest it is inherently dull does a disservice to a discipline that, at its best, is playful, beautiful and empowering.
In an increasingly competitive world, we should be encouraging young people to fulfil their potential across all subjects. Negative media portrayals add an unnecessary hurdle, reinforcing damaging attitudes already echoed too often at home – the familiar “don’t worry, I was hopeless at maths too”. It is hard to imagine a similar boast about, say, history or English being received so warmly.
Careless stereotypes have real consequences. Although girls outperform boys at GCSE maths, they make up only 37% of A-level maths students and just 27% of those taking further maths. The impact on female representation in fields such as engineering and data science is profound. We urgently need more positive role models – and more careful messaging – if we are to close that gap.
In the spirit of championing what maths can be, I would be delighted to offer Ms Davies (and any other journalists with similar memories) a maths lesson. I promise it will prove far more engaging than any gameshow.
Olivia Mariner
Brighton
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