Welcome to the Parallel Universe

Be challenged, get curious, do maths. Stretch your brain every week.

Teachers

Secondary School

The Parallel website is a great place to stretch your keen young mathematicians, because we offer three distinct approaches to stimulating and stretching their brains, with programmes that run week after week, year after year, from Year 6 (age 10/11) through to Year 11 (age 15/16). Our goal is to help increase the number and diversity of excellent mathematicians.

Crucially, we have designed all our projects to minimise the time and effort required of teachers, as you have enough to do already. All the activities take place while the students are at home, i.e., there is no disruption the school day. The only responsibility for teachers is to introduce students to our projects.

Below we will outline how to make the most of weekly puzzle sheets (Parallelograms) and our weekly webinars (Parallel Circles), which are both entirely free.

Parallel Academy

The Parallel Academy will provide students with the opportunity to develop their reasoning and problem-solving skills beyond the curriculum. The project offers a long-term programme of small-group online tutorials, starting in Year 7 (ages 11/12) and continuing for five years. This is a life-changing opportunity that will prepare students for Further Maths A Level, applying to a to university and long-term success in a STEM-related career.

What is the cost of the project?

The project is entirely free for the first academic year, so there is no charge to schools or parents. In subsequent years we anticipate asking families to pay £5 per week, if they can afford it. Money will never be a barrier to participation.

Who is eligible?

Nominations for Year 7 students have now closed and nominations for older students will open in the Summer term.

Please note, every child who is nominated will either earn a place on our main tutoring programme (designed for the strongest students) or will be invited to join our webinar programme (aimed at strong students, who have not yet mastered key ideas)

Further Information

What is expected of selected students?

Students are expected to attend weekly tutorials. They will also be set a homework task, which will take around 30 minutes to complete (and which will be automatically marked online). The total time commitment is therefore 90 minutes per week. Students may also be encouraged to explore other resources, although this will be optional.

The small-group tutorial format is designed to solicit maximum participation, so students will be required to demonstrate a willingness to share their ideas during tutorials.

How will students benefit from The Parallel Academy?

The Parallel Academy will enable students to:

  • boost their problem solving and reasoning skills through regular exposure to challenging maths questions, building on the mathematics they are learning in the classroom
  • improve their written and spoken communication skills as they elaborate their solutions,
  • identify and access the wealth of amazing maths resources that will stretch their thinking and nurture their mathematical curiosity
  • develop a strong mathematical identity as they interact with tutors and other like- minded students from across the country
  • prepare for a career in STEM as they consider options beyond secondary school.

Does The Parallel Academy follow a curriculum?

There is no formal curriculum, although the Academy will place emphasis on preparing students for UKMT maths challenges, as we believe they align with the aims of our project. Students will progress through modules of increasing difficulty. This is very much a programme that dives deeper into core curriculum concepts.

What is the format of the tutorials?

Tutorials will take place on Zoom, in groups of four to six, with each session lasting 50 minutes. All tutorials will place in the evenings and at weekends, so it will not disturb the normal school day.

Who are the people behind The Parallel Academy?

The Parallel Academy has been developed by Simon Singh MBE (author of bestselling maths and science books, including Fermat’s Last Theorem and The Code Book), Junaid Mubeen (a former Oxford admissions tutor and Countdown series winner) and Tom Bowler (a maths teacher with experience writing and marking UKMT Olympiad papers). All three have extensive experience working with budding mathematicians. Simon and Junaid and have been involved with large-scale online tutoring initiatives involving thousands of students since 2020. The are supported by a strong team of tutors, such as Ayliean Macdonald, a former maths teacher and YouTuber.

What safeguarding policies are in place?

Ensuring students' safety and wellbeing is paramount to our work. Our safeguarding policy is informed by our experiences delivering online maths projects over the past few years. All of our tutors are required to have enhanced DBS checks.