We're delighted to announce Maths Week Scotland will be back for 2026!
Maths Week Scotland will take place 19 September - 27 September 2026 for an extended week, to mark our tenth anniversary, with the theme Maths Matters. For this special occasion we are returning to the report which started us on this journey, Making Maths Count, and reflecting on some of the wonderful resources produced over the previous nine years.
This year, Maths Week Scotland will focus on why maths matters in our daily lives. Choose an area that means the most to you, or use the following themes for inspiration:
Maths Matters... for our society and culture
Our Rights
In 2026 we have the Scottish parliamentary elections (7th May), where maths is vitally important in determining the outcome of the election. It’s also important in your understanding of charts and statistics issued by candidates in the run up to the vote. Can you interpret their data confidently?!
Glasgow is hosting the Commonwealth Games (23 July - 2 August). And Scotland will be competing in the men’s FIFA World Cup (11 June - 19 July) for the first time since 1998. Take a look at our Maths in Football resource for inspiration.
Maths Matters... for our world of work
Our Careers
Our annual campaign "Show Your Working" highlights the importance of maths in all careers - from athletes to artists, and from farmers to fire fighters. Our Show Your Working Resource Pack pulls together postcards, blog posts and videos highlighting a wide range of jobs and careers.
Of course, mathematical careers also affect Scotland’s economy. A 2025 report by the Academy for the Mathematical Sciences found that 15% of Scotland’s workers were employed in mathematical science (MS) jobs, and that growing the MS workforce by just 1% could be worth £360 million per year to Scotland.
Maths Matters... for our health and wellbeing
Our Brains
Taking part in maths puzzles can help our mental health and wellbeing, especially as part of lifelong learning. A 2019 study found a close relationship between the frequency of number-puzzle use and the quality of cognitive function, including reasoning, attention, and working memory, in adults aged 50 to 93 years old.
Our Bodies
There is maths involved in any form of exercise training to maintain your physical health too. Did you make a New Years’ resolution this January to join a gym, or increase your distances when running or swimming? You’ll need maths to keep track of your progress. And in dance we have rhythm, sequence, and symmetry, which are all mathematical too!
Our Children
Maths is also important for child development, including spatial reasoning, i.e. how we interpret the relationships between things, such as position and direction. Families can help by using simple mathematical language in the early years. See the Early Childhood Maths Group toolkit for more information. Many picture and lift-the-flap books include mathematical language such as ‘under’, ‘behind’, ‘bigger’, and ‘smaller’, even when the subject is not about maths.
Scottish Book Trust have produced a guide to supporting early numeracy with Bookbug. For older children we are proud to be working with Read Write Count to combine maths and numeracy with creative writing through our Maths Tales competitions.
Maths Matters... for our environment
Our Natural World
2025’s theme Wild Maths provides a wealth of resources and inspiration for exploring this theme, including:
You can also read our blog post by NatureScot for insights into how important statistics are for understanding Scotland’s habitats.
Our Food Production
Of course, there’s a lot of maths involved in farming, and on a smaller scale, gardening. And when food is harvested, you will use maths in cooking it! Try our sugar cookies recipe to get you started.
If you are an individual, organisation, museum, gallery, science centre or anyone else who would like to get involved in hosting a Maths Week Scotland event or creating a resource get in touch at mathsweekscot@nms.ac.uk
If you are a school wanting to be the first to hear about new events and resources for Maths Week Scotland 2026 then put yourself on the map.
It is almost time for the RSPB Big Schools’ Bird Watch – the largest citizen science project for schools across the UK. Sign up to take part, from 6th January- 13th February 2026.
We've pulled together all our seasonal resources from the last three years, and thrown in a few new ones too, so that you can create your own Christmas Holiday Countdown depending on age, ability and preferences. With games, puzzles, art and craft activities to choose from, as well as our interactive puzzle mystery story.
