Best suited for Third Level and above
This set of bespoke evidence-based resources are for exploring statistics using outdoor maths, and includes three lessons: Creature Features, Wings and Things, and Flora Explorer.
The lesson resources can be done in any order and are suitable for students aged 11-16.
Produced by Dr Lucy Rycroft-Smith and Darren Macey as part of Maths Week Scotland 2025.
Best suited for Third Level and above
Maths skills are at the heart of understanding climate change, understanding people’s responses to climate change and developing solutions – whether those are for preventing climate change, or adapting to it. Learn how you can use the Royal Meteorological Society new Climate Change Concept Tool, to support maths in the curriculum.
Best suited for Third Level and above
Discover how problem solvers and critical thinkers unpick problems and tackle issues such as climate change and cyber risk, in this series of short videos.
Created by Institute and Faculty of Actuaries
Best suited for Third Level and above
Watch the replay of the Code Breaking and Cryptography interactive talk from Maths Week Scotland 2022. Join Katie Chicot and Vicki Brown on a whistle stop tour of historical codes, where you will learn to make and break codes and see how cryptography is used today.
Hosted by the Open University
Best suited for Third Level and above
Using Statistics to Monitor Air Pollution - Around 30,000 deaths per year in the UK are linked to air pollution according to government figures. Around the UK, governments and local authorities are increasingly taking action to reduce air pollution levels through schemes which reduce vehicle emissions and encourage the use of public transport, cycling and walking. To target these interventions in the right areas, it is crucial that we can understand which parts of the country are most exposed to pollutants. This talk will explain how statistics is at the heart of this process.
Part of the Royal Statistical Society's William Guy Lecture Series
Best suited for Third Level and above
The decisions behind the medications we take are more complex than you might think. When we experience symptoms like a headache or earache, we might take over-the-counter medications or seek help from healthcare professionals. But have you ever wondered how they determine which medication to give you and how much?
This talk will explore how statistics helps us to make informed choices in healthcare and medicine, including concepts such as randomisation, control groups, and the difference between statistical and clinical significance in simple terms.
Part of the Royal Statistical Society's William Guy Lecture Series
Best suited for Third Level and above
How does AI forecast the weather, diagnose diseases, and help with business decisions? The answer lies in the powerful partnership between statistics and AI. Together, they help us spot patterns, understand data, and make better decisions.
In this interactive session for students aged 11–16, you will explore what AI really is – and look at real-world examples of how it’s being used today. Students will discover why statistics is essential for training AI algorithms, and how data helps machines “learn”.
Part of the Royal Statistical Society's William Guy Lecture Series
Best suited for Fourth Level and above
Road safety is vital for everyone. Whether we drive or cycle, catch the bus or walk, we are all affected by driving – and the policies surrounding it. How do we therefore decide whether people with long-term medical conditions should be offered driving licenses?
Dr Laura Bonnett, a medical statistician at the University of Liverpool and the Royal Statistical Society’s William Guy lecturer for 2020, will seek to answer this question for people who have had epileptic seizures. Maths concepts covered include probability, percentages, estimates and risk thresholds.
This talk was recorded during Maths Week Scotland 2020.
Best suited for Fourth Level and above
Andy White (Heriot-Watt), whose research is focussed on applying mathematics to understand and manage wildlife systems, discusses the plight of red squirrels in the UK, how mathematical models were key tools in understanding the role of invasive grey squirrels, and how mathematics is being used to design forest management plans to conserve the remaining red squirrels in Scotland.
This virtual talk from Maths Week Scotland 2021 was hosted by Heriot-Watt University and International Centre for Mathematical Sciences
Best suited for Fourth Level and above
Cathal Cummins (Heriot-Watt), whose research focuses on fluid mechanics of swirls, encompassing problems in biology, renewable energy, and beer, discusses how equations predict the halo vortex and the implications for the flight of nature’s tiniest fliers.
This virtual talk from Maths Week Scotland 2021 was hosted by Heriot-Watt University and International Centre for Mathematical Sciences
Best suited for Senior Level
Sea level rise and changes in weather conditions due to climate change have increased the risk of coastal flooding. It is increasingly important that we can accurately estimate sea levels to determine how high we need to build coastal defences such as sea walls.
This talk discusses the importance of statistically modelling extreme events and demonstrate how this is fundamental in our fight against climate change. Using her sea level model as an example, PhD statistics student Eleanor D’Arcy presents some of the statistical techniques she uses that stem from topics students will have covered at school; and explains how her results will be used for upgrading coastal defences nationwide, to highlight the significance of statistical research in the real world.
Part of the Royal Statistical Society's William Guy Lecture Series
Best suited for Senior Level
Our statistics are under pressure! It's harder to count the things that we mostly produce today, like tourists' hotel stays and business services, than it was to count the things we used to make, like crops and clothes. This is Bad News as these "economic statistics" are part of our country's critical infrastructure, used to inform everything from how the government spends its money to whether men and women are paid equally well.
In this talk, data scientist Dr Arthur Turrell shows how clever use of AI can improve statistics and help us make sense of our nation. Amazingly, AI is itself built on maths, and this gives it superpowers when it comes to dealing with numbers.
Part of the Royal Statistical Society's William Guy Lecture Series
Best suited for Senior Level
In this online talk, Emeritus Professor of Medical Statistics Mike Campbell looks at some unusual numbers given in the press relating to Covid-19, and whether we can believe them or not. He will show you how you can ask sensible questions about numbers to help you decide if the numbers are believable.
The remainder of the talk will cover questions such as: how would you know how many cases of Covid-19 there were in the country? How do you know that people who died with respiratory symptoms had Covid-19? How many deaths might have been caused by Covid-19 only indirectly, for example because people were reluctant to go to hospital during lockdown?
Part of the Royal Statistical Society's William Guy Lecture Series
Suitable for all levels
Browse our Family Activities section for more maths inspired arts & crafts, games and puzzles. Some are also suitable for the classroom, and others you may want to suggest to your pupils to try at home.
Halloween Maths Puzzles
Download our free spooky puzzles to hone your maths skills - from counting and pattern recognition, to logical thinking and code cracking. With something for all ages.
Suitable for all levels
We've pulled together all our resources from the past years of doing Christmas Holiday Countdowns - including games, puzzles, art and craft activities, and our Finn Finity Christmas Mystery puzzle story - to create a "Pick & Mix Your Own Countdown". Browse all activities via the link below.
