The School Mathematics Project was conceived in July 1961 and teaching of the new material began at the beginning of the school academic year 1962/63 for a pilot group of eight schools: Battersea Grammar School, Charterhouse, Exeter School, Holloway School, Marlborough College, Sherbourne School, Winchester College, and Winchester County High School for Girls. The objective was to create a radical rethinking of syllabuses for O and A Level which would adequately reflect the modern trends and usages of mathematics, and to develop associated texts and teachers’ handbooks. The first O and A Level examination for SMP Mathematics was in July 1964 and July 1966 respectively. 1970 was to mark the completion of the major phase of the Project, when a complete intake of pupils had passed through the new work. The Project was a research programme of Southampton University under the direction of Professor Bryan Thwaites.