Why do you get a stencil in maths sets?

10mm is 1cm. 1cm is 2 squares on normal squared paper. It's not that big. There could also be smaller stencils, they could be used to teach how to write them in free-hand. Considering it was added in 70s it could be used to make sure all students have a way of writing it properly considering how many people lacked primary education.

1970's not 1870's

I'm not talking about white privileged kids. Even then there were a lot of kids who did not get the opportunity. Also*the school leaving age was raised to 16 Only in the 70s. Meaning that kids may have had to leave earlier to help support the family the same way that some still leave at 16 to help support theirs. Who may want to continue their education later when it becomes more accessible. The statistics show that around 1970 less than 40% 16yo's continued to further education while in 2008 it was a bit below 90%. Just because it's not that long ago doesn't mean that a lot hasn't changed

Personally I don't think anyone who needs to use a stencil to learn how to write letters or numbers correctly would also require a full maths set with compass and protractor.I'd say one step at a time, let's learn the basics (writing letters and numbers) before we think about getting more advanced mathematical equipment.

Hi Oliver

Thank you - “The 10mm lettering stencil was included in the Oxford Maths Set in the 1970’s. It is still seen as a relevant part of the maths set as a general education item. Even with the introduction of word processors and computer technology into the classroom this component is still viewed as an appropriate piece to include in our maths sets.”

From
Maped Helix UK

But what would students in the 1970s have used the stencils for?

OK now we have sorted out the stencil problem.... when did anyone ever use one of these ?

*

I was a maths student in the 1970s and can testify that pretty much the only things that stencils were used for in those days was writing ransom notes and (for the bendy plastic ones) flicking bits of chewed up paper across the room. Even then, plastic rulers were much more effective for the latter.

What was the answer from the manufacturers?
What about people that might use it in junior school or on an art or technical drawing course?
Funny thing to get uptight about.

The manufacturers replied on this thread today.

I have been studying maths for a while now and wanted to know why a stencil is included with maths sets as I've never used one, I've asked others no one can give a satisfactory answer.
I thought I might be doing maths the hard way and the stencil could help me with my maths if I knew what it is for.

I understand how a stencil could be useful in art and that it could have many uses, just I fail to see any mathematical use and they are included in maths sets which I guess are primary aimed at GCSE maths students.

I haven't meant to come across "uptight", this thread was suppose to be light harted and I hope it has been funny at times.

On a more serious note, I have to see waste. I have now decided to bin my stencil as I have no use for it, judging by other replies here I guess most maths students do the same. Helix state that they have sold over 100million of these maths sets, that's a lot of plastic to end up in landfill.

Which number post is the manufacturers reply?
Think they do a version of the maths set without the stencil.- value set



Obviously there is no deep mathematical use for it, just a convenient way of reproducing uniform letters and numbers.

Its not unknown if you are at school to do more than one subject in a day.

I think they are a bit oudated these days becayse people have computers and printers so printing large fonts is easy.

Hi Oliver Thank you - “The 10mm lettering stencil was included in the Oxford Maths Set in the 1970’s. It is still seen as a relevant part of the maths set as a general education item. Even with the introduction of word processors and computer technology into the classroom this component is still viewed as an appropriate piece to include in our maths sets.” From Maped Helix UK

Here is the post from Helix...
The maths set you found has a plastic compass, IMHO the metal ones are much better, perhaps it's just me, but the plastics ones tend to bend.The set I bought was only around £2.20 delivered from Amazon, better value than sets without the stencil oddly enough. This is why I buy sets with stencils it just seems a shame later throwing the stencils away. If you do find a set with metal compass but without the stencil for the same price or less, I would be interested.I understand that pupils do other subjects and if that's why it's included for fair enough, it's advertised as a maths set but perhaps like you suggest it's a study set for multiple subjects.