Turing NW Maths Hub
The Maths Hubs Programme brings together mathematics education professionals in a collaborative national network.
Maths Hubs are led locally by an Outstanding school or college to develop and spread excellent practice for the benefit of all pupils and students. Ashton on Mersey School in Sale is the lead school for Turing NW Maths Hub.
Maths Hubs fund nationally and locally designed projects and programmes, with a mission to provide sustainable and long-term professional development.
About Turing NW Maths Hub
Our Maths Hub name commemorates the legacy of Alan Turing, an English mathematician, computer scientist, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher and theoretical biologist.
As a Maths Hub we aim to empower local leaders of maths education, teachers and professionals from every educational phase. Our work also has a wider impact however, inspiring and motivating learners of all ages, nurturing and developing the mathematicians of tomorrow.
The use of the Turing name for our Maths Hub is designed to encapsulate these aims. His work embodies the importance of mathematics and how it can shape and determine events on a national and global scale.
Alan Turing’s work during the Second World War was crucial. He played a key role in inventing a machine known as the Bombe. This device helped to break the German cipher created by the Enigma Machine. It has been estimated that the efforts of Turing and his fellow code breakers shortened the war by several years. What is certain however is that their actions saved countless lives and helped to determine the course of the war. Impact of this work encapsulates the relevance and strength of maths as a field beyond the view of the subject as an element simply taught and practised in a classroom.
Alan Turing also laid the foundations for modern computing and theorized about artificial intelligence – matters which still impact on our lives today. Icons in the field of mathematics such as Alan Turing demonstrate how individuals can lay the groundwork of thought and invention for generations to come.
As a Maths Hub serving areas within Greater Manchester there are strong local links with Alan Turing. After the war he became an academic in the University of Manchester’s Department of Mathematics. We hope this is seen as evidence that within our own hub area there is a rich network and history of achievements and talent in mathematics.
The ethos behind the Maths Hubs Network nationally is that schools and professionals can strengthen and improve practice through collaboration. Alan Turing’s work embodies the fact that the impact of individuals can be great, but his work in Bletchley Park encapsulates the importance of teamwork, of working together on a common goal and the strength this can have.
My family and I are continually delighted and humbled that Alan Turing’s legacy provides such inspiration to so many. It is an honour that the Maths Hub has chosen to formally recognise Alan’s achievements by naming the hub Turing NW, and we look forward to collaborating with them to improve educational opportunities.
- James Turing, CEO of The Turing Trust and Alan Turing’s great nephew
Ashton on Mersey School
The lead school for the Turing NW Maths Hub is Ashton on Mersey School in Sale, in the south-west area of Greater Manchester.
It is a popular and over-subscribed 11–19 mixed high school, with just over 1,500 pupils on roll. The school is the founding member of The Dean Trust multi-academy trust. This comprises ten schools and academies in both the primary and secondary sectors, and spans four local authorities. The CEO, Mr Tarun Kapur CBE, is a National Leader of Education (NLE), with a proven record of school improvement across the north-west region.
In the most recent Ofsted inspection, the school was graded ‘Good’, with inspectors finding that:
“Pupils are diligent and committed to their learning. Pupils show respect for each other’s points of view and they have the utmost respect for their teachers. There is a strong commitment to equality and diversity. Pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is excellent.”
Ashton on Mersey School continues to be one of the most popular and successful schools in Trafford. Our dedicated team of teaching and support staff is committed to maintaining high expectations, standards and professional development so that each pupil can make excellent progress in their academic and social development.
Our school motto is Believe, Achieve, Succeed. Our aim is for all our pupils to believe in and value themselves, achieve their academic and social potential, and succeed in their future learning pathway, chosen career and wider life experience.
Ashton on Mersey School has a history of innovation and has always made a strong contribution to school improvement as part of the school-led system. In 2011, the school became a Teaching School, one of the first in the country to do so. It also secured school-centred initial teacher training accreditation (SCITT) in 2014, the same year that the school was awarded Maths Hub status.
The school’s principal sponsor is Manchester United Football Club. The club’s elite scholars between the ages of 12 and 16, and all its post-16 scholars, attend the school for their education to complement their football development.