Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 05/10/2026If f(x) = cos (x), would you you italicise the f and the cos? Surely not 100
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 05/10/2026We may have to disagree then, but I think italicised function names tend to be produced by those who over-use equation editor; exam boards don’t, decent textbooks don’t. Function names aren’t variables so shouldn’t be italicised. Next up, angels dancing on the head of a pin! 220
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Next up: a non-italicised f in every functionstatic.klipy.comGalaxy Quest: Never Give Up, Never Surrender!ALT: Galaxy Quest: Never Give Up, Never Surrender! 240
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Where will they find a ‘drawing board’ these days? 020
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026It all went wrong after questionnaires were dropped from GCSE Maths 010
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Here’s an examplewomenintransport.comWhy is a lack of gender balance in transport planning an issue we must address to move forward? | Women in TransportJo Ward is a Board Director of the Transport Planning Society and has written and spoken extensively about the need for more inclusivity in transport planning and its governance. In this guest blog, s... 220
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 28/09/2026Poetry anxiety Is uncommon in society It takes almost no time To come up with a rhyme 240
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 27/09/2026I hope Pearson will finally have a wordqualifications.pearson.comPearson copyright policy | Pearson qualificationsThe materials we publish are protected by copyright legislation. However, we allow Pearson centres to access them in certain contexts. Learn more here. 101
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Turn up to the interview and speak fluent Albanian, I’d say. Doubtless there are all sorts of suitable organisations who could provide a Certificate of Proficiency (school exam boards not being one currently)petition.parliament.ukPetition: Introduce Albanian GCSE and A-levelsWe ask the Government to introduce GCSE and A-Level qualifications in the Albanian language. Thousands of children attend Albanian supplementary schools and would benefit from a nationally recognised ... 100
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 27/09/2026Other than French, German and Spanish, the exam boards could save a lot of money by dropping the MFL qualifications. They’re mainly used by (often independent) schools who enter native speakers to boost their exam results 100
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 26/09/2026I couldn’t get past “construde an air of laziness” 120
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Pretty sure there isn’t, but if there was I expect it would look much like the 2025 table 010
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Watch the talk, buy the bookyoutu.beWhy we need more women in science - with Athene DonaldYouTube video by The Royal Institution 021
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Less than six weeks until the next compulsory GCSE resit, btwtheguardian.comCompulsory GCSE resits in England harm teenagers’ mental wellbeing, study findsUCL researchers warn repeated exam attempts may dent students’ confidence and raise risk of dropping out 020
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 23/09/2026But when will I use limits in real life? “While the gauge mechanism may provide a reasonable indication of tank contents, the float itself has practical accuracy limitations and is not designed to provide precise measurements. For this reason, gauge readings are not used for billing purposes.” 000
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 23/09/2026I’ve recently been inducted into the world of LPG suppliers - they’re the IGCSE of energy companies A bit like the more widely used alternative but totally unregulated, much more expensive and all the numbers are made up as they go along 122
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 22/09/2026The “one-day ‘Investigating with Mathematics’ event” sounds like quite the innovation 🤔thefitzwilliam.comIreland Could Destroy Its Secondary School MathematicsThe proposed Leaving Certificate reforms are incredibly concerning 132
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 16/09/2026A Grade 4 boundary of 57/300 for Higher Tier GCSE Maths doesn’t really show a lot about what those students know and can do 000
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Ironic, I suppose, that the development of GCSE Natural History continues at a glacial pace 100
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 14/09/2026Don’t worry, in the future AI will do all that for you 110
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 14/09/2026The data over the years for questions testing converting recurring decimals to fractions is better than any set of PISA tests 110
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 12/09/2026Cost of trips in sample: 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 600, 1000 061
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Oh, it was free to read earlier on (I too don’t have a law degree) 000
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 11/09/2026Well indeed, but where is that sweet spot of a good balance and how do we decide who gets to do what? 101
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 11/09/2026“I believe that degrees in science, engineering and mathematics are amongst those that genuinely offer the greatest personal, social and economic value to our nation”thetimes.comScience and maths degrees offer most value to the nation, says ministerChris McDonald told a room full of vice-chancellors that science, engineering and mathematics ‘offer the greatest personal, social and economic value’ 230
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 09/09/2026With GCSE exams, you can get the questions, the performance data, the sampling data, the scoring rationale I can’t get any of that with PISA. I wait to be convinced 010
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 09/09/2026I’ll bet the Art and English teachers can’t wait 000
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Ofqual’s review of marking comes out around December every year: www.gov.uk/government/s...gov.ukReviews of marking and moderation for GCSE, AS and A level: summer 2025 exam seriesStatistics on the number of reviews of marking and moderation for GCSE, AS and A level. 110
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 09/09/2026Why say “the exam boards” when in this case it’s almost certainly “the AQA exam board” which is meant. Teachers are always looking for a way to discriminate between exam boards - maybe marking accuracy would be a good metric 110
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 07/09/2026Tony Hatch bought my grandparents’ house when they died in 1973 or so 110
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 07/09/2026Paul Graham was my father - he took his pen name from the names of his sons. It was his only book! Don’t think he ever got as far north as Yorkshire TV, though 051
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 07/09/2026Without crunching the numbers, I’d say much of this is down to the increasing uptake of Maths & Further Maths (for which a disproportionate number of A*/A grades are awarded), predominantly in London and the South East 002
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 07/09/2026Have been doing the elderly parents’ financial audit today and now I’m going to lobby Lucy Powell to introduce compulsory Maths to 80 070
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 07/09/2026Worth paying your 20% VAT for www.hamhigh.co.uk/news/2652201...hamhigh.co.ukHampstead's new private school is treating every pupil to ice-cream in school colourAlleyn's Hampstead will serve a specially commissioned blue gelato to every pupil during their first week of term at the new school. 020
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 06/09/2026Especially as “I don’t know” is a correct answer 010
Graham Cumming @mathsnot.bsky.social · 06/09/2026The University of London Schools Examination Board (ULSEB) used to pre-test those questions back in those analogue days to make sure they got a decent range of responses (ie to make sure they were not too easy, not too hard). Many can still be found on the emporium! 231
