Mathematics
Curriculum
Mathematics is a creative and highly interconnected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. Our high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.
Mathematics is an interconnected subject in which pupils learn to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas. The programme of study for Key Stage 3 is sequenced into, what may appear to be, distinct domains, but pupils build on knowledge gained in Key Stage 2 and build connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems.
Each area of study in mathematics is connected to the others and we retrieve, affirm and build the knowledge and understanding as we progress through the curriculum. For example when learning about and how to apply Pythagoras’ theorem in Year 9 we need previous teaching from Number with an understanding of square numbers and square roots, from Algebra with the application of substitution and rearranging equations and from Geometry in the knowledge of the properties of shapes and specifically triangles.
Through the mathematics programme of study we enable pupils to acquire the necessary skills and knowledge to progress to further education, employment and training with increasing numbers able to progress directly to level 3 qualifications
Year 7-9 Learning Journey
KS4 Foundation Learning Journey
KS4 Higher Learning Journey
GCSE Courses Offered
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Level 2 Qualification |
Exam Board |
Link to Website and specification |
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GCSE Mathematics |
Pearson
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http://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/mathematics-2015.html |
Homework
Sparx is an exciting online platform that provides a highly personalised weekly maths homework to students, tailored to their attainment level and working speed. Your child’s Sparx online homework will be set on a Wednesday and be due on the following Tuesday morning at 8:25am each week. Student usernames are generated when your child first signs into Sparx.
Please ensure that your child records their username (usually first name last name with no spaces) and chooses a memorable password. Your child’s mathematics teacher will be able to provide support with any signing in issues.
Sparx personalises each child’s homework, creating a weekly set of questions tailored to their level of understanding and learning pace. The questions are designed to be achievable whilst offering the stretch that learners need to make progress. Sparx’ research (sparx.co.uk/impact) has shown that students completing their weekly online tasks make more progress and achieve significantly improved grades through this type of personalised maths home learning.
For Parents:
A guide to Sparx Maths – Click here This link includes all parental guidance and videos (also copies of student videos) as well as a list of frequently asked questions and their answers.
Sparx impact research –Click here
For Students:
• PDF guide to logging into Sparx for the first time – Click here
• Video guide to logging into Sparx for the first time – Click here
• Information video – Click here
• Sparx learning tips – Click here
• Bookwork video – Click here
Extra Curricular Activities
Each year more able students across all years are encouraged and supported to take part in the National Mathematical Challenge Competitions run by the UKMT.
The questions are set by the University of Leeds and are aimed at the top 5% of young mathematicians nationally. The UKMT award bronze, silver and gold certificates to the top performers. We have enjoyed the success of several students going beyond the Maths Challenge to reach the higher stages of the competition.
Every week the mathematics staff provide a Booster to Y11 on Thursdays after school. The staff offer their time freely and student attendance at the booster club is usually high because students value the impact it has.
Useful Links
We subscribe to several websites to support the teaching and learning of mathematics and we review our subscriptions annually to stay ahead of the curve as newer and better resources become available.
Students have their own login for Mathswatch Virtual Learning Environment, where students in all year groups can watch video lessons, try practice questions and check their answers with those of the video teacher, work on questions to check understanding and have them marked instantly, and even complete entire past GCSE papers which are also marked instantly.
Other useful websites requiring no log in include:
- Corbett Maths (video lessons and practice questions) Corbettmaths – Videos, worksheets, 5-a-day and much more
- Maths Genie (videos and banks of examination questions and exam papers) Maths Genie - Free Online GCSE and A Level Maths Revision
- White Rose Maths (videos linked to our lessons in Y7, Y8 and Y9, plus videos for Y10 and Y11 covering every topic on the National Curriculum for Mathematics)
