There was evidence to suggest that students returning to Level 5 of the BSc Mathematics course at SHU were struggling to maintain the engagement and attainment they achieved at Level 4. The attendance of students at taught classes was generally lower at Level 5 than at Level 4 and the number of referrals could be considerably higher in L5 than in L4.

This phenomenon was not restricted to SHU or to mathematics; the "sophomore slump" is a recognised issue across institutions and disciplines ((Thompson et al (2013), Wang and Kennedy-Phillips (2013), MacDonald and Gibson (2011))

This project aimed to collect more detailed evidence of the sophomore slump on BSc Maths at SHU, how this fits in to the wider context throughout the UK and gather information on successful strategies employed elsewhere.