History is richly studded with the names of illustrious mathematicians whose work has shaped, steered and sometimes even skewed the course of this great subject. The arcane rituals of Pythagoras, the austere beauty of Euclidean geometry, the tragedy of the young revolutionary Galois and the secretive wartime heroism of Alan Turing; the stories are as fascinating as the mathematics involved. When people are asked to name a famous mathematician, these are a few of the names frequently mentioned. But what of “her story”? The eminent female mathema-ticians for whom, historically, studying was often an act of defiance rife with inherent danger. Sophie Germain whose par-ents locked her in a cold, dark room to prevent her from studying, Sofiya Kovalevsyaka who entered a fictitious marriage of convenience in order to attend university, Emmy Noether–hounded out of German academia by the then ruling Nazi govern-ment, Mary Somerville, Hypatia of Alexandria, Maria Agnesi, Ada Lovelace…. the list of exceptional female mathematicians is long. And in an era in which we no longer forbid, but indeed celebrate our girls studying mathematics, the list must surely be growing.
As Head of Maths at DCHS, it is my unmitigated delight to observe the sheer strength and popularity of a subject, still per-ceived by the unenlightened, to be the traditional preserve of boys. With over 170 students studying A-Level Maths – an impressive 53% of the Sixth Form and 11% pursuing the additional demands Further Maths - compare these figures with the national uptake for girls (7.7% and 0.9% respectively) and not only do our girls challenge gender stereotypes – they shatter them. Our students enjoy continued success beyond A-Level with 32% of our previous Y13 cohort now taking a fascinating range of STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) courses at university.
One of the many great pleasures of teaching Maths at DCHS is the overwhelmingly positive attitude of our students. Maths is regarded with respect, interest and enthusiasm and as Maths teachers, we have the distinct privilege of teaching intellectu-ally curious, engaged students who thrive on competition, rigour and challenge. Academic success is sought by all; the mo-ment from which you enter a Maths classroom, you are here to learn, to think, and ultimately to achieve your full potential. You may leave us with fire in your heart-inspired to study Maths at university or simply as a more confident mathematician, joyful in your attainment of the GCSE B grade for which you persevered with great tenacity; either way, secure in the knowledge that your achievements are all the more golden as they stem from determination and hard work; both genderless attributes.
We live in a time where we are proud to bear to witness to the first female winner of the prestigious Fields Medal in Mathe-matics, Maryam Mirzakhani. Yet in making up 12.8% of the STEM workplace women remain distinctly underrepresented in this sector. I hope that our girls will look upon this as a further challenge, and realise that gender should never be a barrier to pursuing a love of Maths and Science. We prove this each day, in every lesson, now let’s show the world what we can do.
Miss de Alwis, Head of Faculty
Maths and Computing