Surrey Maths School (SuMS) Sixth Form

I'm interested in any info/feedback on the Surrey Maths School (SuMS). I know the school has just been opened in September 2024, so no test or uni admission results are available, but I wonder, how does the level of students compare to other math schools (KCLSM/Imperial) or a good grammar school, especially, given that it is not as popular as other more established schools and is relatively far away from most London boroughs and suburbs?

I'm interested in any info/feedback on the Surrey Maths School (SuMS). I know the school has just been opened in September 2024, so no test or uni admission results are available, but I wonder, how does the level of students compare to other math schools (KCLSM/Imperial) or a good grammar school, especially, given that it is not as popular as other more established schools and is relatively far away from most London boroughs and suburbs?

Hii!
I'm a current student at SuMs and here are some of my thoughts on the school so far.
In general, I think the school is great! I came from a good grammar school, but the main reason I wanted to go to a Maths school in particular was the method of teaching. We often work together on large whiteboards with time in class to explore our subjects beyond the curriculum, which is really useful for a deeper understanding of your subjects and in general supercurricular interests. Another difference is that the content is taught in an order and way that links together most topics in a very seamless way, which helps strengthen your understanding greatly.
Since we are the first cohort, there are no current exam/university results to base your application decision on. However, I can say the students here are very bright, even in comparison to the other maths schools. Most students here came from being at the top of their classes so the average “level” is pretty high. But I find this really useful because I am always challenged and feel that I am always learning something new! Also, note that our current head teachers were previous teachers at KCLMS and have been able to implement similar schemes at SuMs.
But SuMs is also different from the other maths schools because it is a different school! Our student body is really close and our student council is very active. We do a lot of events, organised and ran by students. We get a lot of independence and space to express our interests whether this be through clubs, events, or trips. (We do more than just maths!)
The community here is unlike any other in my opinion. Everyone is really welcoming and willing to help if you are stuck and people are interested in greater Stem topics which is so inspiring. It is honestly amazing having people who also genuinely love maths and Stem in the same way you do. I am so glad I went to a maths school for that reason.
If you are passionate and love Maths plus whatever other subjects you pick when applying to SuMs, I am pretty certain you would love being here. I wish you the best of luck with your entrance exam coming up and if you have any other questions let me know!

Thanks a lot @ j(√-1)nxx! It is very interesting to hear from the current student... Are the many students with a long commute (say, more than 1h)? For me it would be at least 1.5h. So I'm really not sure if the school would be truly worth it, especially given that my current school is also pretty decent. It is just not that many people who are strong and passionate about math and stuff. Do you have streaming of classes at least in math?

No worries! Most students have over a 1hr commute, so you definitely wouldn't be alone in that. Id say the time you spend commuting is something you should think about because you do waste quite a bit of time doing it, however remember you could spend this time reading or doing flashcards etc...
For me, the culture and environment at SuMs are worth the long commute just because people are so passionate about their subjects, and I think most students find that they've found people who really have the same passion and interest as themselves.
Wdym by streaming sorry

How did everyone find the test? For me it was pretty hard, I didn't have enough time to finish at least 4 problems

which test?

Surrey's math aptitude test this Saturday

Thanks for the additional insights! By "streaming" I mean, are classes grouped by abilities? I hear in KCLMS there are 4 sets described as: "Set 1: Do seemingly impossible math Sets2 and 3: Do some hard but cool maths Set 4: Do enough to get A stars in both maths and FM". This seems needed as they take a lot of weaker students with high wide participation scores. In my current (grammar) school we too have the top set and the rest at least in maths. The top set, for example, is doing Additional Math (sort of AS level) instead of Further Math in year 11 and is generally doing the more advanced math.

Understood. Are those STEP questions graded and discussed, if needed? or is it like feel free to do extra stuff if you are keen, but you are on your own?
Also do some of you guys do BMO and BIO, has anyone got to BMO2? Overall, how is the load and is there tons of assignments? My year 11 is pretty crazy, so if I add 2 extra hours of commute, it would be a bit of a problem. Sorry for the tons of questions, just don't know who else to ask.

Hii!
I'm a current student at SuMs and here are some of my thoughts on the school so far.
In general, I think the school is great! I came from a good grammar school, but the main reason I wanted to go to a Maths school in particular was the method of teaching. We often work together on large whiteboards with time in class to explore our subjects beyond the curriculum, which is really useful for a deeper understanding of your subjects and in general supercurricular interests. Another difference is that the content is taught in an order and way that links together most topics in a very seamless way, which helps strengthen your understanding greatly.
Since we are the first cohort, there are no current exam/university results to base your application decision on. However, I can say the students here are very bright, even in comparison to the other maths schools. Most students here came from being at the top of their classes so the average “level” is pretty high. But I find this really useful because I am always challenged and feel that I am always learning something new! Also, note that our current head teachers were previous teachers at KCLMS and have been able to implement similar schemes at SuMs.
But SuMs is also different from the other maths schools because it is a different school! Our student body is really close and our student council is very active. We do a lot of events, organised and ran by students. We get a lot of independence and space to express our interests whether this be through clubs, events, or trips. (We do more than just maths!)
The community here is unlike any other in my opinion. Everyone is really welcoming and willing to help if you are stuck and people are interested in greater Stem topics which is so inspiring. It is honestly amazing having people who also genuinely love maths and Stem in the same way you do. I am so glad I went to a maths school for that reason.
If you are passionate and love Maths plus whatever other subjects you pick when applying to SuMs, I am pretty certain you would love being here. I wish you the best of luck with your entrance exam coming up and if you have any other questions let me know!

as an opinion, i believe KCLMS and imperial are both better yk, and there is cambridge maths school aswell, which i think is a bit better if not on par with SuMS, i haven't really heard much about the school tbh because its new. Personally, im going to try out for it however wont go if i get in as i go to rbs anyways! this is mostly opinion based not backed up by many facts, but im researching stuff about the school using websites etc

NUH UH, we got better UKMT results than imperial, still got decimated by kings.
To say we're on par with SuMS wild, they have only been open a few months no?