Mathematics in UK education has been perceived as having a long standing problem. Many people have noted that recruitment has been in apparent decline with the consequence that mathematics and related disciplines have seen an effective loss of funding and one consequence has been closure and contraction of mathematics and related disciplines in many institutions. Whilst mathematics itself has recently shown some recovery in recruitment the impact of greater centralisation and the lack of critical mass mean that many departments are still vulnerable. Furthermore allied subjects such as engineering and computing continue to suffer recruitment difficulties. This has seen Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics [often referred to as STEM] becoming one of the focus groups in a recent HEFCE report on subjects at risk.
