[1][2] It was the first teachers' subject organisation formed in England.

In 1951, Mary Cartwright became the first female president of the Mathematical Association.

[3] In the 1960s, when comprehensive education was being introduced, the Association was in favour of the 11-plus system.

It is one of the participating bodies in the quadrennial British Congress of Mathematics Education, organised by the Joint Mathematical Council, and it holds its annual general meeting as part of the Congress.

[5] It is based in the south-east of Leicester on London Road (A6), just south of the Charles Frears campus of De Montfort University.