In 2025, More young people than before They have opened One-level The result is to find out how they did in themselves Maths Examination Once again, Maths has been the most popular A-tier theme in 2025 with 112,138 entries.
This is more than 4% compared to 2024. Entries in further mathematics, an A-level that extends on the course of mathematics, has also increased-7% increase since 2024, with more than 19,000 entries this year.
As a professional mathematician, this is pleasing news. Some of these students will be happy to confirm their place to study maths in the university.
When I discovered in my mathematics degree, I was happy that many of the subjects I studied in school – chemistryBiology, physics and even music – woven together with a mathematical fabric, something that I never forgot.
I am excited by the idea that many youth are going to experience it for themselves. But I worry that fewer students will have equal opportunities in the future, as more mathematics departments are forced to downsays or closure, and as we become more dependent on artificial intelligence.
There are many differences between studying mathematics in the university compared to school. Although this can be challenging at first, all these differences have been underlined on how to have a richly layered, depth connected and widely applied mathematics.
At the university, not only you learn beautiful formulas and powerful algorithms, but also struggle with why these sutras are true and what these algorithms are doing. This is the idea of “proof”, which is not much discovered in school and something that can initially surprise students.
But to prove why the formulas are true and why the algorithm work is an important and essential step, which is capable of discovering new and exciting applications of mathematics you study.
Career in a mathematics degree can be finance, Data scienceAI, Cyber Security, quantum computing, Circumstances And climate modeling. But even more importantly, mathematics is a beautiful creative subject, which allows people to be extremely expressive in their scientific and artistic thoughts.
A recent and amazing example of this is Hannah Cairo, who rejected the 40 -year -old estimate in just 17.
If there is a message, I wanted me to know when I started studying the university Mathematics It is: Mathematics is not only to learn something, but to make something. I am constantly surprised how my students found new ways to solve the problems that I first faced 20 years ago.
Mathematics degree access
But the question of going to the university to study mathematics is no longer a case of A-Level Grade. Recent and increasing incidence of mathematics desert – region of the country where the degree of mathematics is not offered – the degree of mathematics is making less accessible, especially for students outside large cities.
The campaign for the campaign from the CAMS campaign, of which I am a supporter, shows that research-intensive, high-tariff universities-people need to achieve high grade-In 2024, 66% of UK undergraduates are taken, above 56% in 2006.
This puts small departments in the lower-tariff universities in danger of closure of nomination drops. CAMS research estimates that additional nine mathematics departments will enroll less than 50 in their degrees by 2035.
This cycle will further focus the degree of mathematics in high-tariff institutions, strengthening such stereotypes such as only exceptionally talented people should go to the university to study mathematics. It can also have serious consequences for teacher recruitment. CAMS research also found that 25% of lower-tariff universities from high tariff universities go to jobs in graduate education of mathematics.
Mathematics at AI age
AI’s growing ability and refinement is also putting pressure on mathematics departments.
With Openai’s claim that his recently released GPT-5 “is like a team of PHD-level experts in your pocket”, the temptation to rely on AI raises more risk for the existence and quality of future mathematics degrees.
But the process of converting knowledge and principle into knowledge comes from the task of converting into knowledge: calculating and making logical and rigorous arguments. It is a major component of thinking clearly and creatively. This ensures that students have their skills, ability and ownership of the work produced by them.
A data scientist will still require intensive working knowledge of mathematical, algorithm and statistical theory, if they are going to be effective then underline data science. The same is the same for financial analysts, engineers and computer scientists.
The iconic mathematician and computer scientist Leslie Lamport stated that “for coding programming is what typing to write”. The way you need to consider what you are writing before typing it, you need to have some views of the code (mathematical) algorithm that you are making before doing it.
It is worth remembering that early forerunners in AI – John Macarthi, Marwin Minsky, Cloud Shannon, Allen turing – All had degrees in mathematics. So we have every reason to expect future successes in AI will come from people with creatively working mathematics degrees in interdisciplinary teams.
This is another major feature of mathematics: its versatility. It is a subject that does not just train you for a job, but enables you to enjoy a rich and full career -one that can include many different jobs, in many different areas, during life.
Neil Saunders is a senior lecturer in mathematics at City St. George University in London.
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