Four critical moments
A pattern of decline
The “secondary school honeymoon” is short-lived. Pupils enter Year 7 optimistic, full of excitement and hope for what big school has to offer. But as autumn turns to winter, that spirit fades.
By Term 2, pupils saying “school is fun” drops from 73% in Year 6 to 58% and stress rises from 42% to 50%.
Pupil perception of school over time
At the end of primary school, high-attaining disadvantaged pupils (C2DE) are more likely to say that their maths lessons are fun than advantaged pupils (ABC1). But this flips a year later. By the end of Year 7, just 22% of C2DE pupils find maths lessons fun compared to 52% of ABC1 pupils. Advantaged pupils tend to recover by Term 3 but the outcome flat lines for disadvantaged pupils.
Maths lessons are fun
“It’s too easy and I get bored waiting for everyone else”
— Pupil
“I find it stressful when the teacher moves too fast”
— Pupil
These comments reveal the delicate balance teachers must manage. Because pupils have different prior experiences and bring different knowledge with them, what is new for some pupils is revision for others. Both sides of this coin are bad for high prior-attainers — struggling with content others find easy can hit their self-esteem, whilst revisiting what they know well can feel boring.
The Term 2 dip could be explained by various factors. It’s the period where assessment pressure builds, post-Christmas fatigue sets in and initial excitement melts away. This time offers a golden window for intervention, before changes in habits and self-confidence begin to calcify.
Inequalities & fragility of confidence
C2DE pupils arrive in Year 7 more enthusiastic about maths than their peers. Secondary school reverses this entirely. By the end of Year 7, they find maths less enjoyable, less interesting, and more stressful.
Pupils net positive about maths lessons
This is not a story about disadvantaged pupils liking maths less. It’s a story about what happens when their enthusiasm hits secondary school. It’s about resilience to setbacks, access to support, and the safety net that helps some pupils weather the storm while others struggle. For many high-attaining disadvantaged pupils, confidence is fragile.
“Maths really ruins my self-confidence. It makes me feel stupid.”
— C2DE Pupil
“I don’t get as much help as I need and I’m worried I’ll get picked on for not knowing the answer.”
— C2DE Pupil
“I’m happy with the foundation in primary school. It gives me the confidence to tackle any maths problem.”
— ABC1 Pupil
These contrasting voices show how quickly self-belief can splinter. When faced with a new maths topic or type of question, disadvantaged pupils are less likely to feel happy or excited by the end of Year 7. Although this was the case in primary school, during Year 7, this gap in happiness widens from under ten percentage points to around thirty.
When facing a new problem or topic, how do you feel?
Despite starting the year at the same academic standard, levels of confidence are vastly different between groups. ABC1 pupils consistently report higher confidence (49%–51%) than C2DE peers (40%–43%). This is measured by how many pupils report, “I usually learn maths quickly.”
I usually learn maths quickly
When teachers recognise and rebuild confidence early, a moment of doubt can become a lasting belief that they belong in the room — and can go as far as anyone.
The classroom culture battle
By Year 7 Term 3, lessons feel more predictable. The proportion of pupils saying lessons “stay the same” more than doubles from 10% at the start of the year to 21%. Whilst this of course reflects the realities of the school year and end-of-year assessments, this is nonetheless a change that pupils react to.
Variation of activities in maths lessons activities
Meanwhile pupils’ perception of productive behaviours declines such as listening (43% to 37%) and working together (37% to 29%) and disruptive behaviours increase such as pupils talking when they shouldn’t be (40% to 44%) and interrupting the teacher (25% to 30%).
The data reveals a clear pattern: while curriculum and teaching approaches are consistent across groups, experience in the classroom differs significantly. High-achieving C2DE pupils report more disruption and experience less maths discussions and debates as they move through the year relative to ABC1 pupils (28% vs 41% by Term 3).
Maths discussions or debates
Talking when they shouldn’t be
Messing around
Pupils describe being distracted or frustrated about classroom behaviour:
“I'd like things to be explained a bit more until we understand them. If the teacher didn't keep getting interrupted by naughty pupils, we may learn more.”
— Pupil
“There are too many people in our class and the people who mess about spoil the lesson.”
— Pupil
“I liked it when the naughty children were out of class because it was less stressful.”
— Pupil
Classroom culture has a knock on effect on engagement, just like content. Children from less advantaged backgrounds are learning in more disruptive classrooms and having fewer opportunities to experience the richness of mathematics.
Parental perception and trust
There is a mirror effect between child and parent perceptions. As pupils adjust to new systems and switched routines, parents’ confidence in teaching and support shifts too.
To what extent do you agree or disagree that your child’s math teacher ‘is trusted by your child’
“In primary it seemed more imaginative and captivating, but now it seems more inflexible and test oriented.”
— Parent
“I think it's hard to give that same level of care in secondary school that is given in primary.”
— Parent
Trust in maths teachers falls from 80% in Y6 to 74% by Term 3, with the steepest decline occurring between Term 1 and Term 2.
Most parents continue to review education positively but a more cautious tone is adopted as perceptions soften. “Excellent” or “good” ratings for education drop from 77% to 72% across Year 7 and their perception that teaching is tailored to the child drops from 71% to 65%.
Throughout the year, fewer children are described as working above the expected level. Parents of disadvantaged pupils are more likely to express uncertainty about their child’s progress. This points to a communication gap. When family confidence and pupil confidence dip together, challenges can multiply.
Working towards expected level
Working at expected level
Working above expected level
I'm not sure
ABC1 parents are significantly more likely to say their child is working above the expected level compared to C2DE parents, while C2DE parents are more likely to say they’re unsure, highlighting a socioeconomic divide in confidence or clarity around academic progress.
Why this matters
When families lose trust at the same moment pupils lose confidence, problems compound:
- Parents are less likely to reinforce messages about effort and progress
- They’re more likely to accept their child’s negative self-assessment (“I’m just not good at maths”)
- They may not reach out when their child starts to struggle, assuming the school already knows
Summary
Acting early
Year 7 is the hinge moment for pupils’ future relationship with maths. It’s when:
- Confidence and engagement drop significantly.
- Socioeconomic gaps begin to widen, not because of ability but because of experience.
- Both pupils and parents start noticing shifts in classroom climate.
- Trajectories for the rest of Key Stage 3 begin to set.
The encouraging news is that this is predictable. The “January slump” is not imaginary and the instinct that something shifts after Christmas is backed by data. It’s also possible to reverse. If advantaged pupils can recover from the dip, then disadvantaged pupils can too. They are more likely to finish primary school enjoying maths so this is something we need to harness as they move into secondary school.
Maths also remains a subject pupils are drawn to. Around half of high-attaining pupils say they like, love, or enjoy maths (50% of those from more advantaged backgrounds and 44% from disadvantaged ones). The intrigue is there.
We can use this understanding to design timely, evidence-informed support that keeps pupils’ optimism alive through the most important transition of their school lives. Harnessing this insight can help build the blocks for a confident, positive and lasting relationship with maths.
Year 7 doesn’t have to be where the story turns, and you can help us change that. Express your interest today to become an Axiom Maths partner school in September 2026.
