A question I often ask my students is whether they think that maths is discovered or invented. This is usually a simple question to answer. For example, finding out that the Earth is not flat - despite the evidence of our senses - but round - less intuitive despite gazing at the horizon of an ocean - is clearly a discovery and not an invention. Most scientific theories rely upon experimentation with the natural world and discovering how it behaves under this experimentation.

Maths has a reputation for being difficult, but that is only part of the story. It is also one of the most useful A level subjects for building clear thinking, steady confidence, and future options. A level Maths does more than teach algebra, graphs, trigonometry, statistics, and mechanics. It teaches a way of approaching problems when the answer is not obvious. That skill matters in exam rooms, university courses, apprenticeships, and workplaces where people need to analyse