I am happy with the notion that geometry warrants sensible attention within a curriculum and the assertion that narrow questions in exams lead to boring teaching (TES, January 18).
Inadequacies in algebra teaching and a wish to improve the cohesion of data handling content have been addressed in the national curriculum rewrite and GCSE developments.
All of these are worthy causes but patching has already created an obese curriculum leading to superficial teaching. Some of the popularity that the subject has gathered is likely to evaporate and the subject appear, again, on pupils’ least-liked subject lists. Future curriculum reviews ought to have cohesion and trimming as a priority.
Don Steward Independent maths adviser ‘Tolmers’, Rodington Heath Shrewsbury, Shropshire
