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Our students take A-level or AS further maths ("Universities revive further maths", THES , September 20). The students gain good grades, but we still have difficulty recruiting viably sized groups. The problem is that students do not see the value of further maths. Most are given Universities and Colleges Admissions System offers that do not mention it. The result is they lose motivation or give up.

We tell students about the number who come back from maths, engineering and physics courses saying how helpful further maths has been, but students want more evidence. Universities may not want to frighten off a good candidate by making a more exacting offer than elsewhere, but a request for a modest grade in further maths would act as a spur and help to further the cause.

Christine Crisp
Shrewsbury Sixth-Form College

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