In this Outstanding Teaching, Learning, and Assessment (OTLA 3) project in 2017/18, three local colleges (Stockton Riverside, Darlington and Hartlepool) decided to be proactive in preparing to deliver the new 9—1 maths GCSE grading specification and improve their GCSE maths outcomes. To do this the project had to address the triple challenges of teaching mandated maths GCSE learners; the lack of suitable initial and diagnostic tools for the new maths GCSE specification; and the combined staffing problems of a shortage of maths practitioners and experienced teachers who have only ever delivered to motivated learners who chose to complete maths GCSE. The team divided the project into 2 stages: collaboration and mentoring, and implementing teaching/assessment and tracking.  At the end of the project, learners reported high levels of satisfaction with how the colleges organised their courses, the clarity of assessment tasks and quality of feedback. Attendance on GCSE courses at Stockton and Darlington colleges improved and they had high rates of exam attendance, 95.7% and 93% respectively. The final report includes the tracking tool and a scheme of work the project developed.

Technical accessibility note: The ETF has edited and reformatted the case study and as far as possible the final report for accessibility with screen readers, but diagrams and tables in the latter are unfortunately not fully accessible.