Bowland Maths makes maths fun and absorbing for pupils aged 11-14. The aim is to help change pupils' views of maths by increasing their motivation and enjoyment, which should help increase their confidence and their competence. A second aim is to help teach maths in a different way.

The Bowland Maths materials look very different from most maths teaching materials. They consist of innovative case study problems, each taking 3-5 lessons, designed to develop thinking, reasoning and problem solving skills – as in the revised Key Stage 3 curriculum. Each case study is different, but all provide pupils and teachers with problems that are fun and engaging, while also being a rich maths experience. The case studies are not remotely like answering questions from a book. For Portraits of the case studies, click here.

Bowland Maths also includes Professional Development materials to help teachers develop the skills needed for the case studies and for the new Programme of Study. There are five modules which cover the main pedagogical challenges for this type of investigative problem solving. Each module is activity based; it is built around problems similar to the case studies, but short enough to fit into a single lesson. For an outline of the Professional Development modules, click here.

All these materials are available on the Bowland Player, which is free to UK schools from this website. Some users may have problems accessing interactive content online, so there is a DVD-ROM version, which also has better quality video, available free to schools in England.

The NCETM website has a forum where teachers can share experiences of Bowland Maths.