Paul Glaister is Professor of Mathematics and Mathematics Education in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Reading. He has 42 years of teaching and leadership experience in higher education including teaching many applied mathematics courses at undergraduate, postgraduate, and foundation level; responsibility for the school-university transition, and teaching and learning more widely; and a five year term as head of department. Paul has 470+ publications spanning research in numerical analysis, mathematics/ science education, and teaching and learning.
Paul has experience of education policy and practice in the pre-HE sector, particularly in Post 16 mathematics, and on the school-university transition, as well as across mathematics support programmes funded by the Department for Education (DfE), including the Maths Hubs, Advanced Mathematics Support Programme, and the Centres for Excellence in Mathematics. He has reviewed subject content and qualifications for the Department for Education and Ofqual, Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment in Northern Ireland, and Qualification Wales, including for A-levels in Mathematics and Further Mathematics, and for Core Maths.
As well as Royal Society ACME and the Chair of the Expert Panel for A levels, Paul is a member of committees of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA): Council, Executive Board, Professional Affairs, Chair of the Membership Committee and Chair of the CMathTeach Registration Authority in his role as Honorary Secretary. He is also Vice-Chair of the Schools and Further Education Committee. At the IMA he is responsible for Fellowship - FIMA, chartered statuses: CMath, CSci, CMathTeach, and the Advanced Data Science Professional (AdvDSP) certification as part of the Alliance for Data Science Professionals (AFDSP) and as a member of the Alliance’s Governance Board and its Professional Accreditation Standards Committee.
He is also a member of the Advisory Board and of the Steering Group of the Campaign for Mathematical Sciences (CaMS), which was formerly Protect Pure Maths (PPM).
Paul is a member of the Education Committee and the International Affairs Committee at the London Mathematical Society (LMS). He is also a member of the Joint Mathematical Council (UK), and was its Chair 2015-18, and is the UK representative to the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) as part of the International Mathematical Union (IMU).
Paul is a member of the national advisory committee for the DfE-funded Future Teaching Scholars Programme, and the Government-funded Multiply - Skills for Life Programme as part of the lifetime skills guarantee.
He was a consultant to the DfE-funded Core Maths Support Programme, supporting Core Maths in many ways, including membership of the advisory boards for teaching, managing, promoting Core Maths, the DfE HE Task Group. His activities included briefing universities on Core Maths, and post-16 mathematics more generally, following an invitation to Vice-Chancellors from Ministers at BEIS/DfE to find out more about Core Maths.
Paul has experience of quality assurance across the university sector for both undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications, including for IMA degree accreditation, external examining, Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), and periodic reviews and external examining.
Paul is currently President-Elect of 153-year old Mathematical Association, and in 2025 will become the 107th President in a list comprising Professor GH Hardy FRS, Professor Sir James Lighthill FRS, Professor Sir Michael Atiyah OM FRS and Professor Sir Christopher Zeeman FRS.
In 2023, Paul was appointed CBE - Commander of the Order of the British Empire - in the King’s New Year Honours List for services to Education.
Professor Paul Glaister CBE

Committees

Participated Role
RS ACME - A Levels January 2018 - September 2023 Deputy Chair
Advisory Committee on Mathematics Education (RS ACME) February 2017 - December 2018 Member (JMC)
RS ACME - A Levels September 2023 - December 2024 Chair