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Meet your IB Maths tutor: Mrs Anne-Marie Lam

The thing you should know about me is that I love maths for so many different reasons. 

I love understanding a problem and then thinking about it and I absolutely adore the elation of finally solving something I have been puzzling about for ages. I love how Mathematics treats everyone the same: a correct solution to a problem or a proof is not subject to someone’s opinion or open to interpretation.

I also love its universality. I grew up in a small town in Ireland learning pretty much the same mathematics as people all over the world. The mathematics that were studied by my grandmother seventy years ago are the same as the mathematics young people are learning today in Brazil and China and Nigeria - it’s something that connects us and allows us all to communicate.  

I studied Mathematics at University College Dublin and after my Master’s degree I moved to London, eager to see more of the world and excited about starting a job. I trained in finance in London and New York and later did a Master’s in Finance at London Business School. I worked at several investment banks, but although Mathematics was always related to my job, the idea of Maths teaching was always at the back of my mind. Doing Maths all day long and helping others to enjoy it just seemed like a really fun job. I finally found the courage to make the career change to become a teacher at Whitgift. Joining the Maths department at Whitgift was one of the best decisions I have made. Although I miss some aspects of life in banking (and am always ready with anecdote about how useful algebra or calculus can be in the city) it was soon obvious to me that I had returned to my true passion!

The Maths department here at Whitgift has achieved exceptional exam results. The teachers in the department come from diverse backgrounds with several of us having experience in careers relating to Mathematics, but all of us share a passion for Mathematics and a passion for teaching. We are fortunate to have some amazing Mathematicians studying at the school, who win competitions and go on to study Mathematics at the highest levels in university, but often the best part of our work is when a student joins Whitgift thinking Maths is not their strong point but slowly grows in confidence and appreciates the satisfaction of fully understanding and using a mathematical concept.

The IB courses in Mathematics are great courses to teach emphasising academic rigour without losing the excitement of solving problems that makes maths so appealing. I like that every IB diploma student studies Maths. Not only is learning Maths important and helpful no matter what career path you take or what your future holds, it’s also a hugely diverse and full subject to learn.