Early adopter A ‘valuable qualification’

Chris Chipperton is deputy head teacher at Alban C of E middle school, Bedfordshire, and was one of the first 16 to receive the CMathTeach award.

“It was at grammar school that I was captivated by mathematics. SMP [the School Mathematics Project] was just coming in and I relished all the different topics. I’d always enjoyed the precision of mathematics, but my primary school was old-fashioned: four rules and rote.

“I didn’t go straight into teaching; I ended up working in the City. But I used to play rugby with my old teachers and they encouraged me to teach. I took a CertEd in mathematics, and, five years into teaching, an education studies degree at Hull. There I joined the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications. I preferred it because it looked at maths in the widest possible context. Now I’m on IMA’s schools and further education committee, I’m still fascinated by those perspectives.

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