It may not be most 14 year olds' idea of a perfect Christmas, but forty Year 10 students from deprived areas of Greater London are looking forward to spending part of their holiday participating in a maths course at the University of Cambridge. The students, who attended their first residential Study School in August, will be in Cambridge from 17th to 20th December.

They are part of the $1.2m Goldman Sachs-supported Fast Forward Maths programme at the University of Cambridge and are mainly from schools with a low average GCSE or A Level score, have no family tradition of going into higher education and are mostly from ethnic minorities. This will be the second of three residential courses they will spend at the University during this academic year. The Fast Forward Maths programme is the first subject-specific residential programme run in the University of Cambridge over such a lengthy period. They will be taught by Cambridge academics and teachers, including Professor John Barrow, director of the University's Millennium Maths programme.

In addition to workshops and lectures that will focus on successful problem-solving and logical thinking, the students will hear from Cambridge graduates, many from similar educational backgrounds to their own, about the value of higher education and the kind of careers that studying maths can open up to them.

They will also be taking part in a full schedule of social events which offer them a chance to see more of Cambridge and further opportunities to make lasting friendships.

Preveina Mahadevan, a student at Crest Girls Academy in Neasden, said she had a great time in August and learnt many new things about maths, such as codebreaking. "It's really different to what we do at school and everyone is so concentrated on learning. It's very rare to get this experience. I will never forget it."

Kajal Chhapia from London Academy in Edgware said: "The programme has increased my confidence already so that I think I might be able to study at Cambridge. It has really made me look at maths in a different way."

Fast Forward Maths is being run by the University over three years and includes the residential courses as well as three Teacher Inspiration Days each year, aimed at supporting mathematics teachers who are committed to nurturing confident, resourceful and enthusiastic learners.

It is run by two award-winning divisions of the University of Cambridge: the NRICH Project, which is part of the Millennium Mathematics Project, and the Group to Encourage Ethnic Minority Applications (GEEMA), which is part of the Widening Participation Team in the Cambridge Admissions Office.

The NRICH website is part of the Millennium Mathematics Project and has been providing free on-line maths education resources for over a decade. The aim of the MMP is to develop mathematical skills and understanding by providing top-quality enrichment activities for maths students and their teachers, both nationally and internationally.

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