What you study at EMS
Every student takes Maths and Further Maths; the rest of the timetable — Physics, Computer Science, or both — is built to complement them.
Core subjects
| Subject | Exam board | Teaching time |
|---|---|---|
| Mathematics & Further Mathematics | OCR Mathematics B (MEI) | 9 hours/week |
| Physics | Eduqas | 4.5 hours/week |
| Computer Science | AQA | 4.5 hours/week |
Mathematics & Further Mathematics: Every student takes both. Mathematics is assessed across three components: Pure Mathematics & Mechanics, Pure Mathematics & Statistics, and Pure Mathematics & Comprehension. Further Mathematics is 50% Core Pure, plus minor/major options in mechanics, statistics, and a further choice from Numerical Methods or Extra Pure. 8 lessons (9 hours) a week, with almost the whole Maths syllabus and part of Further Maths covered in Year 12 so revision can start well before final exams.
Physics: Three components — Newtonian Physics; Electricity and the Universe; Light, Nuclei and Options (choosing one of Alternating Currents, Medical Physics, the Physics of Sports, or Energy and the Environment) — taught in purpose-built labs with an emphasis on practical work.
Computer Science: A roughly even split between theory and programming, starting in Python before branching into other languages. Assessed by an on-screen exam (40%), a written paper (40%) and a self-directed non-exam assessment project (20%), which starts in the summer term of Year 12 once students have enough programming skill.
Every student takes Maths and Further Maths, plus Physics, Computer Science, or both. Students not taking both Physics and Computer Science take a fourth subject at neighbouring Exeter College instead — anything from the College's full range of A-levels, BTECs and enrichment courses (the prospectus lists Economics, English, History, Music, Art, Biology and Chemistry as recent examples), or the College's own "Extend" enrichment programme (a foreign language, Ecology and Conservation, Game Design, an Arts Gold Award, or a Sports and Physical Therapy programme).
Exeter Mathematics Certificate (EMC)
The school's flagship, and — by its own account — the thing former students most often name as the highlight of their time at EMS. It runs in three stages across the two years: a group Problem Solve stage (Exeter University academics set a demanding open problem, worked on in groups, presented at the annual Christmas Lectures hosted by the University of Exeter); a Real World Challenge stage, researching a problem set by a partner organisation and presenting findings in a professional report; and an individual Research & Develop stage in Year 13.
Real-world challenge partners named in the school's own current prospectus include ATASS, QinetiQ, the Met Office, Apple and Dyson. Past individual research topics cited by the school include "The Science of Skimming Stones", "Developments in Aeronautics", "The Mathematics of Traffic Flow" and "Statistically Engineering the UK Top 40".
Curriculum X
Extra, optional modules for Year 13 students, taught more like university teaching — typically a short lecture followed by a longer problems class each week, plus problem sheets. The school states directly that Curriculum X exists "thanks to the generous sponsorship of XTX Markets" — the trading firm founded by Alex Gerko, which also separately funds the unrelated 1729 Maths School opening in London in September 2026 and a range of other UK maths-education philanthropy. Students can elect up to ten modules across the two years.
Confirmed still live and XTX-Markets-sponsored as of July 2026 — see exetermathematicsschool.ac.uk/study/curriculum-x/
Modules on offer (recent years)
- Ethics in Computer ScienceProgramming in C++LimitsComputer Aided MathematicsKnot TheoryData ScienceInteractive Theorem ProvingSums and IntegralsContinued FractionsLinear AlgebraThe Nature of LightRelativitySignallingEarth — A Physical and Mathematical IntroductionFrom Forced Harmonic Motion to AC ElectricityWhat is a Day? — The Equation of Time and Other StoriesAdvanced Statistical ModellingFluid DynamicsAstronomy
Inspire lectures
Fortnightly stand-alone lectures and workshops, open to the whole school, ranging across philosophy, history, politics and art as well as mathematics — the point is to expose the links between mathematics and everything else, not just to teach more maths content. Past topics named by the school include "Proof of 1+1", "Time Travel for the Uninitiated", "Levels of Truth" and "The Seaton Down Coin Hoard" (a real Roman coin hoard discovered near Seaton, Devon).
Tutorial system
- Academic tutorial
- Mixed Year 12/13 groups meet their tutor weekly to review progress, set targets and get support with academic studies and university planning.
- Pastoral tutorial
- Fortnightly sessions on topics beyond the academic — from the democratic system to the importance of sleep to managing a student budget — framed around reviewing evidence and making informed, rational decisions.
- EMC Skills
- A weekly hour in Year 12 covering the programming and communication skills students need to succeed at the EMC.
Where it leads
For 2025, the school's own results page cites 9 students securing Oxbridge places, while a separate source puts it at 4% of the cohort — the two don't reconcile from what we could find, so both are reported rather than one being picked. Separately, 93% of leavers progress to higher education or training, including 66% to Russell Group universities (year not fully confirmed).