Mathematics

Welcome to the Mathematics department

The aims of the Mathematics Department are to raise achievement and maximise the learning potential of all pupils. In class, pupils perform activities that provide frequent opportunities to discuss their work, to develop logic and understanding and to explain their reasoning and strategies.

As a department, we are supportive and friendly, and students are encouraged to come and see us whenever they want help or are keen to take advantage of additional enrichment tasks. We have an established extra-curricular programme, including maths challenges and revision sessions.

Curriculum Intent:

Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. We aim to teach our students why mathematics is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. Teaching a high-quality mathematics education to our students 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.

AIMS

Our aim of teaching mathematics is to ensure that all pupils:

Achieve fluency in the fundamental mathematical concepts.
Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry to develop an argument.
Apply their mathematical knowledge to solve problems with increasing complexity.
Build on prior knowledge and make connections across mathematical ideas.
Apply their mathematical knowledge across subjects such as science, geography, computer science and other subjects.
Develop the resilience to be challenged further to solve rich and sophisticated problems.

Curriculum Implementation

Our mathematics curriculum encourages students to apply their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions. The pupils are provided with opportunities to frequently practise increasingly complex ideas over time to develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. They are taught how to justify the proofs using mathematical language. The pupils who grasp concepts rapidly are challenged with rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice before moving on.

The student progress is measured regularly through homework, class book scrutiny, summative assessments based on end of topic tests and end of half-term assessments. Students are encouraged to understand the process of learning so that they are able to self-regulate and self-correct. This allows both teacher and students to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum and feeds into future planning.

In lessons students will learn about a wide range of topics. In order to ensure that students are able to fully participate in lessons, it is essential that they bring the following equipment with them to all lessons:

Exercise Book
Pen
Pencil
Ruler
Rubber
Pencil Sharpener
Scientific Calculator
Protractor
Compasses

We love Mathematics and want to inspire all our students to do the same!

Through up-to-date classroom learning resources, games and a variety of other activities we encourage the pupils to explore the uses of Mathematics in everyday life.