A new maths learning centre described as “like a gym for maths” has opened in Altrincham town centre.
Mathnasium has enjoyed huge growth around the world, especially in its original home of America where there are now over 1,100 centres.
It’s now growing fast in the UK and one of its first Northern centres will be opening on Stamford New Road on February 17th.
It’s designed for children in Years 1 to 11 and works on a membership basis, like a gym.
Rather than the more traditional style of tutoring where students are taught in a group setting at set times, Mathnasium has individualised learning plans and is open for students to pop in whenever they want.
Initially it will be open between 3pm and 7pm from Monday to Thursday, and from 10am to 2pm on Saturday, with plans to open longer and on Fridays once the centre is up and running.
Centre Director Josh Hammond, who has worked with Mathnasium for eight years including three years at one of its locations in Florida, explained the concept.
“What we do is so different from other tutors,” he said.
“All of our children have access to completely flexible sessions. We have a whole team of instructors here every day, and the children can just pop in any time we're open for a session.”
“That’s a massive bonus for parents who already have swimming and football and hockey and everything else - being able to just drop in whenever is convenient for them is a huge plus.”
He added: “Every child also has their own personalised curriculum which is tailored to them, so we're not trying to fit a child into a system, we're looking at the individual and finding out where their gaps are in maths. We then build a curriculum based on those gaps.”
Hammond, who has moved up to Altrincham with his family after a spell working at Mathnasium’s centre in Amersham in Buckinghamshire, said the centre’s focus for its students was “long-term success, building confidence and helping children enjoy maths".
“I've worked with children who are four or five years behind and I've worked with children in Year 3 who are doing Year 10 maths. It doesn't matter if children are behind or ahead, we work with each individual case.”
He said he was already loving the “really nice community spirit” in Altrincham.
“There are really good schools around here as well. In Amersham there was a grammar school just one minute’s walk away, so we're really familiar with the 11-plus and the grammar school system.”
Mathnasium has taken all three floors of the Stamford New Road property - formerly the home of the Toni & Guy salon - and there’s room for 60 children.
Taking care of both students and parents is a high priority at Mathnasium, as evidenced by Hammond and his team winning consecutive global annual awards for outstanding customer service.
Hammond stressed that all the teaching at Mathnasium was “one-to-one”.
“There is no group teaching whatsoever,” he said, “because all the children are on their own curriculums. So even if there are eight children sitting around a table, there are eight different lessons going on.”
Mathnasium has a special offer for the first 50 students to enrol at the Altrincham centre, and anyone enrolling by February 17th will save an additional £150. The centre is also open throughout the half term and the summer holidays.
“If a student comes in two to three times a week - which we recommend - then it's about £22 a session,” added Hammond.
“It's economical so long as children can commit to coming in two to three times a week. I don't recommend coming in once a week. It's so important to me that a child is going to make progress and it's going to be beneficial for them. The last thing I want to do is just enrol people for the sake of it - that's not what we stand for.”
Mathnasium is now taking bookings for free trials and assessments. For more information, visit: https://www.mathnasium.com/uk/maths-centres/altrincham
