Secrets of our Success

Last month, the outstanding exam results of our A Level Maths candidates over the past two years earned Harrodian the top spot in The Sunday Times list of the UK's 'Best Schools at Maths'. Tony Lee, Head of Harrodian Mathematics for the past 20 years, explains the secrets of his department's success. 

Caption for group photo, top: Harrodian Mathematics teachers ( left to right): Daniel Maybury, Catherine Morgan, Elspeth White, Melissa Perera, Rosanna Tremayne, Poonam Willder, Kash Ashraff, Tony Lee, Adam Thompson, Geeta Rautela, Mark Curtis, Kate Ward, Layla Chaouki, Joe O'Shea, Janek Saller (Not present: Warren Rodricks)

When Tony Lee joined Harrodian as Head of Mathematics in September 2002, he was in no doubt of the challenge he faced. 'I was recruited when Harrodian decided to launch its Sixth Form so that was my top priority. When my first A Level Maths students took their exams in 2004 there were just two of them,' he recalls, adding with his trademark wry smile. 'A lot has changed since then.'

It certainly has. Twenty years on, under Mr Lee's leadership, Sixth Form Mathematics at Harrodian has grown and thrived, first consistently establishing itself as students' top subject choice at A level and, in recent years, making a real mark on the local and national stage, thanks to the consistent excellence of Sixth Formers' exam performance. Last month, the outstanding exam results of our A Level Maths candidates over the past two years saw Harrodian top the list of Britain's 'Best Schools at Maths' in Parent Power, The Sunday Times 'definitive guide to UK secondary schools'. (A combined total of 55 A-level pupils over two years all achieved 100% A* /A grades in the examination cycles of 2022 and 2023). 

Never a man to blow his own trumpet, Mr Lee prefers to spread the credit for Harrodian's rising Maths reputation widely among his team. Recent success at A level he says has been built solidly on 'the rigour, and commitment of colleagues at every level of the school who share a passion for mathematics'.  First on his thankyou list are Mr Lee's fellow A Level specialists Ms Poonam Willder (who has been at the school almost as long as he) and our indefatigable Key Stage 5 Maths Co-Ordinator Ms Geeta Rautela: 'The A Level learning regime is robust and demanding. We teach, we test, we review and then we do it all again.' he says. 'And both these A Level cohorts also benefited from their teachers' constant willingness to extend their involvement beyond the syllabus through co-curricular clubs, competitions and activities.' 

Mr Lee is also keen to thank all 15 of his colleagues in the Mathematics team. 'What we achieve at A Level would be impossible without the solid foundations our teachers build at Upper Prep and at GCSE Level, not to mention the 'heavy lifting' put in by Maths teachers in the Lower Prep.' 

For all their chart-topping achievements, there's no chance of Harrodian's team resting on their laurels. As The Sunday Times survey points out, today's savvy generation of teenagers are increasingly aware that acquiring good maths skills can ease their progress to a university place and a good job in our modern tech- and data-driven world and this is fuelling the widespread ambition among students to study the subject at A Level.

Mr Lee is acutely aware of the need to keep on building on the opportunity presented by Mathematics' new currency and popularity. ‘Even in our lower GCSE sets, pupils are telling us they feel inspired to study A Level Maths. By keeping our setting system fluid we try and to give every student the teaching that suits their needs and give late developers their best shot at it,' he says. 'It's nice to get straight As but ultimately our goal is less about achieving perfect results than getting more students studying Maths at the best level they can, and ensuring that each one of them is equipped to do their very best.'