Mathematics

The study of mathematics allows students to process, manipulate and reason with the world.  It gives students the knowledge and skills which enable us to communicate and improve in such disciplines as Science, Technology, Economics, Engineering and Medicine. We teach students;

• fluency in procedures; allowing them to rapidly and efficiently implement techniques we use to quantify the world around us.
• to reason and think critically; about the underlying laws, rules and limits of our knowledge.
• to solve problems; by efficiently integrating their knowledge and skills into contexts and models of real-world scenarios.

We work alongside our Church of England CHRIST values to enrich how our students experience mathematics, preparing them for a life outside of education. Students are able to demonstrate these values in the following ways:

• Be Courageous – it takes fortitude to confront that which we cannot do and to accept and address our own misconceptions.
• Be Hardworking – Knowledge of mathematics is not simply binary, through diligent practice we can continually refine and further our understanding and ability to apply it.
• Be Reflective – we must review what we already know, and how we learned it; in order to find our limits and then develop beyond them.
• Be Inspired – mathematics is not just functional; it has beauty, elegance and a universal association that means artists, scientists and philosophers all benefit from grounding in mathematics.
• Being Supportive– Mathematics is built from hundreds of small skills and we all need help with some of them from time to time.
• Be Tenacious – mastery of mathematics does not come easily or quickly; and we must train regularly by practicing what we are already capable of as much as tackling things anew.

We know that secondary school is one stage in lifelong engagement with the tools of mathematics, and so our curriculum is structured into a stage-not-age approach where students are challenged at all ages and abilities with principles and ideas that helps them develop mastery and true understanding – which is so much more than the ability to get a correct answer.

7 key strands are broken down into topics which incrementally develop students’ proficiency. This model of continuous themes with increasing complexity and sophistication is a mindset which we believe will help students approach the real world – as we encourage them to make evidence based and data driven choices. An example of this is below:

A Predicted Grade 8 student might study :

Simple Indices in Year 7, leading to

Standard Form in Year 8,

Generalised Power Laws in Year 9,

Then doing Fractional and Negative Indices in Y10 and finally

Exponents in Y11.

Whereas the student studying a foundation pathway might do:

Simple Indices in Year 8,

Standard Form in Year 9

Power Laws in Year 10.

And have no need to take on the additional Higher Tier content (F+NI, Exponents).

Sustained regular practice of fundamental techniques ensures student knowledge is continually reviewed and restored, so that more able students don’t lose skills acquired earlier in their education.

We offer a full spectrum of qualifications from functional skills up to GCSEs and A Levels in Further maths – ensuring that all pupils leave with qualifications which reflect their ability.

Key Stage 3-5 Mathematics Curriculum Map