Mathematics
The Mathematics curriculum has been developed to enable development of knowledge and skills within the different subject strands of Number, Algebra, Ratio and Proportion, Geometry and Measures, Data and Probability from one year to the next.
Students will acquire efficient and accurate methods for deriving solutions, supported by an understanding of why those methods are appropriate. Frequent practice and recall of knowledge is a feature of the curriculum across all years, aiming to develop a long-term retention of these methods.
The application of knowledge is also a key focus in the curriculum. Students will develop approaches to solving problems within and between the strands with a greater level of complexity as they develop as mathematicians.
Key Stage 3
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Does the Mathematics Department follow the National Curriculum? |
Yes |
The Key Stage 3 curriculum is designed to lay the foundation for the GCSE course and build on the numeracy development acquired in primary school. We extend the students’ work into topics which require skills beyond number work. By the end of Year 9, all students will have experienced a wide range of maths.
Students are taught in mixed ability classes for the first half-term of Year 7. We then use a combination of their Key Stage 2 scores and/or Baseline assessments in addition to our own Maths-specific tests to decide on the groupings we will have. The groupings are reviewed regularly throughout the Key Stage and changes made accordingly.
Key Stage 4
Key Stage 4 Maths follows the EDEXCEL specification and there are two tiers of examinations. Higher level, which is targeted at grades 4-9 and above and Foundation level, targeted at grades 1-5.
Higher students need to be familiar with the Foundation content in addition to the Higher-only elements. Both tiers have common content that we refer to as the Crossover.
The Foundation tier has a greater proportion of number work, but students will also have to study some challenging topics. These include basic trigonometry, algebra and compound measures.
At the Higher tier, there is a greater proportion of algebra content. There is also significant emphasis on the more difficult aspects of topics like functions, proportionality, trigonometry and probability.
We will assess students’ progress regularly, using homework, termly tests, the Year 10 exams and the Year 11 mock exams. We may change a student’s tier and class if we feel that it is in the best interests of the student to support them to achieve the highest grade possible.
Further information about the GCSE Mathematics specification can be found using the following link:
Maths GCSE | Edexcel GCSE Mathematics (2015) | Pearson Qualifications
Key Stage 5
At Key Stage 5 we deliver both A Level Maths and A Level Further Maths.
The A Level Maths course has 7 lessons of Pure Maths per fortnight. This is largely algebra but will include trigonometry, coordinate geometry, calculus, proof, sequences and vectors. There are 3 Applied lessons a fortnight – covering statistics and mechanics.
We structure the Further Maths course as a double option (with the A-Level Maths course combined). There are 13 Pure lessons a fortnight – covering the Pure Maths elements from A-Level Maths followed by the Further Maths Pure content. The other 7 lessons are split between the Applied A-Level Maths content (Mechanics and Statistics) and the Further Mechanics and Decision Maths at A-Level.
Further information about the A Level Maths and Further Maths specifications can be found using the following link:
Pearson Edexcel AS and A level Mathematics (2017) | Pearson Qualifications