Progression of engineering students who attended a pre-sessional residential summer school

'Flying Start', a pre-sessional residential summer school was first held in September 2003 for incoming undergraduates, in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, with a weak or non-traditional mathematical background. In addition to mathematics sessions, the programme included an emphasis on key skills workshops, group work, evening social activities and an introduction to the Mathematics Learning Support Centre (MLSC) and its facilities. The MLSC, open to everyone at Loughborough University, has a wealth of mathematics support material and offers oneto- one mathematics support, which is available on a drop-in basis. Due to the success of the first 'Flying Start', the pre-sessional school ran annually for four years and intake was widened to include students, who met the criteria, from engineering or engineering related disciplines. Following the first three summer schools, attendees who scored less than 50% on a mathematics diagnostic test, were also offered additional individual support with their mathematics modules during their first year of study. This paper presents the findings of a longitudinal study tracking retention rates and degree classification of students who attended the 2003 and 2004 ‘Flying Start’. These results are compared to those obtained by non 'Flying Start' attendees who entered the same department in the Engineering Faculty in 2004. Conclusions are drawn about the effectiveness of the mathematics support offered to students who enter university with a weak mathematical background.