Celia Hoyles

Areas of Specialization: Mathematics Education, Mathematics Policy, Applied Mathematics
Celia Mary Hoyles (née French) was born in Chigwell, Essex, a small town in the UK located about 20 miles northeast of London. She is Professor of Mathematics Education at UCL Institute of Education (UCL), as well as in that university’s Institute of Education.

After graduating from Loughton County High School in 1964, French (as she was then known) attended the University of Manchester, where she received her bachelor’s degree in 1967, with a First Class Honours degree in Mathematics. Upon graduation from university, French taught mathematics at a high school in London’s East End. In 1969, she married Martin Hoyles (the couple later divorced).

While still teaching in London, Celia Hoyles began taking classes part-time at the University of London (now UCL), from which she received a Post-Graduate Certification of Education with distinction in 1971. The following year, Hoyles began teaching as a Senior Lecturer at the Polytechnic of North London, while continuing her part-time graduate studies. In 1973, the University of London awarded her the Master of Education degree with distinction.

In 1980, Hoyles received her PhD from the University of London. Her dissertation was entitled, Factors in School Learning—The Pupils’ View: A Study with Particular Reference to Mathematics.

In 1984, Hoyles was appointed to her present position, which was then a newly created chair. She was the youngest professor in the university at the time. For a while in the late 1980s, Hoyles was presenter of Fun and Games, a prime-time television quiz show about mathematics.

In addition to the nearly 300 peer-reviewed journal articles she has published, Hoyles has co-authored or co-edited around 10 scholarly books, as well as a multi-volume set of interactive workbooks, UCL ScratchMaths, which is designed to teach math to child nine through 11 years of age.

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