Alison was one of the founding Trustees when the organisation formally became a charity in 2012, and has been an integral part of the Maths on Toast team throughout this time.
Not only has she brought a considerable amount of educational experience as a former maths teacher and Professor at UCL Institute of Education, but more importantly, her warmth and energy has inspired those around her. Although she leaves the Board, she will still be an advisor and patron for Maths on Toast and so she won’t be getting rid of us just yet!
We stayed in touch as Alex formulated her early ideas, which culminated in the first “Festival of Triangles” and led to the creation of Maths on Toast as a Charity in 2012.
Our mission, which has never wavered, is to “create family and community maths fun”, and our Annual Reports show the multiple and diverse ways that we continue to achieve this mission. From theatre productions to co-design projects, library sessions to parent support groups, I have never ceased to be amazed by the creativity of the staff team, the Trustees and volunteers. At the heart of this is a desire to “rebrand” mathematics for our beneficiaries – to offer an antidote to the sort of maths most children experience in school, which rarely has time for more creative and arts-based approaches. This is not to say that one approach is better or more valuable than the other, but that both are needed to enable children, parents, carers and teachers to appreciate the subject in its full technicolour.
Although I step down as Trustee, I am delighted to join Alex as a Patron of the charity and act as an Advisor, a role through which I can continue to champion its mission and be involved in its ever-evolving projects.”