[2] She completed a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1980, with a thesis titled "Factors in school learning - the pupils' view: a study with particular reference to mathematics".

In the late 1980s she was co-presenter of Fun and Games, a prime time television quiz show about mathematics.

[10] With Arthur Bakker, Phillip Kent, and Richard B. Noss she is the co-author of Improving Mathematics at Work: The Need for Techno-Mathematical Literacies.

[4][15][16] In the 2004 New Year Honours, Hoyles was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) 'for services to education'.

[17] In the 2014 New Year Honours, she was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in recognition of her service as director of the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics.