The Mathematics department is made up of 9 dedicated and enthusiastic teachers. The Director of Learning leads the department with invaluable support from the Deputy Directors of Learning. The department also benefits from having a specialist Lead Practitioner to help improve the quality of teaching and learning. Furthermore, the department is fully supported by a HLTA and senior faculty ETA. All teachers in the department follow up-to-date and detailed schemes of work which include online resources such as Hegarty Maths.

The Curriculum

Key Stage 3

In Years 7, 8 and 9 students receive seven lessons per fortnight in mathematics.  Students follow a mathematics mastery style curriculum.  Students are set based on data from their previous school and from our own testing throughout Year 7. 

 “Mathematics education should be so much more than just passing exams, we want every child to not just pass GCSE mathematics but pass with top grades and to leave school with a love of mathematics. ”

Basically we want every school leaver to achieve a strong foundation in mathematics, with no student left behind.  Our aim is for students to be in a position to choose, if they so wish, to study A level and degree level science, technology, engineering and mathematics related subjects.

The curriculum has problem solving at the heart, encouraging the use of mathematical language to promote accurate explanations and justification. 

A typical Mathematics lesson is made up of a ‘Do Now’ task, which a student will do on their own immediately on entry and may be based on prior learning, problem solving or investigation  Then there will be new learning, where the teacher will explain a concept followed by an 'I do' (worked example) then ‘You Do’.  There will be practice exercises to develop learning of a particular concept and this will involve a mixture of group work, individual learning or paired work.  

The rigorous assessment schedule enables teachers to monitor progress of students continuously, testing is just one method.  In every lesson, teachers will be assessing what students do or do not understand and will deal with misconceptions immediately.  Moreover, all our students will be appropriately challenged; tasks are rich and investigative and will challenge students to think mathematically.  Tasks are built into the curriculum plan to support the retention of previous learning and build independent skills for students to solve multistep problems. 

Key Stage 4

In Year 10 students receive eight lessons per fortnight in mathematics. Students study the curriculum areas of number, algebra, ratio, geometry, statistics and probability in line with the new GCSE requirements.  They aim towards either the Higher Tier (grade 9-5) or Foundation Tier (grade 5-1) GCSE examinations. 

In Year 11, students also receive eight lessons per fortnight in mathematics. Students study the curriculum areas of number, algebra, shape and statistics in line with the current GCSE requirements. They aim towards either the higher tier (grade 9-5) or Foundation Tier (grade 5-1) GCSE examination. 

GCSE Statistics and Further Mathematics gives students the opportunity to broaden their knowledge in a key component of maths that is relevant to everyday life. They’ll develop a core statistical grounding, as well as transferable skills and understanding that is applicable to a range of other subjects. It will also benefit those progressing to other A-level subjects such as the sciences, geography and psychology. 

Before/After School Clubs

The Mathematics department runs several after school activities:

• Achieve (Monday after school)
• Homework drop-in
• Numeracy breakfast club
• KS4 drop-in workshops
• Exam preparation (every morning)

Additional support is available for students across all year groups from the 'Covid Catch-Up Premium'.

Revision

Formal intervention and revision sessions are provided throughout Year 11.  These include pre-school and after-school targeted intervention sessions as well as general after-school revision sessions.

Enrichment

Selected students in Years 7 and 8 are entered into the UKMT Junior Challenge and in Years 9, 10 and 11 selected students are entered into the UKMT Intermediate Challenge.

Useful Links

Hegarty Maths – www.hegartymaths.com

Studymaths – www.studymaths.co.uk

Corbettmaths – www.corbettmaths.co.uk

Maths Chase - https://www.mathschase.com/ 

Please click the links below to view our curriculum plans.