Key Stage 3
Mr F. Duffy (Head of Mathematics): firstname.lastname@example.org
At Southfields Academy we have adopted the national Teaching for Mastery programme at Key Stage 3 and have become one of the lead schools in the borough for this programme. Students are taught in a mastery style, which involves spending more time on topics by developing a deeper, conceptual understanding. Lessons are jointly planned by both the Year 7 and Year 8 teaching teams, which results in students benefitting from the skills and knowledge of a vast range of experienced and innovative teachers. This also ensures that the students are all receiving the same, consistent teaching. Challenge for the more able is a major focus of the planning meetings so that every students comes out of a maths lesson feeling they have learned something new and have been stretched by the tasks in the lesson.
Course Content/Skills Learnt
The units covered during Year 7 and 8 are:
- Year 7 Autumn 1: Place value and multiplicative reasoning
- Year 7 Autumn 2: Directed number and algebra
- Year 7 Spring 1: 2D shapes
- Year 7 Spring 2: Fractions
- Year 7 Summer 1: Angles
- Year 7 Summer 2: Data handling
- Year 8 Autumn 1: Ration and proportion
- Year 8 Autumn 2: Further algebra, solving and graphs
- Year 8 Spring 1: 2D and 3D shapes
- Year 8 Spring 2: Percentages
- Year 8 Summer 1: Probability
- Year 8 Summer 2: Revision and end of KS3 assessments
Students are assessed very half term, mostly on that half-term's content. As they progress through the year, the assessments will become more synoptic and will test all of the content covered in the year to date. These synoptic tests are designed to enhance the students' revision skills and encourage them to recall previously learned material on a more regular basis. At the end of Year 7 and Year 9, students are assessed completely synoptically.
Books/other materials/useful websites to visit/field trips etc.:
As we are jointly planning the mastery-style lessons and creating our own resources to stretch and challenge the students, we don't tend to rely too heavily on textbooks at Key Stage 3.
We subscribe top HegartyMaths (www.hegartymaths.com) for the whole school. This is an amazing resource for students to use at home for extra practice material, stretch themselves further or catch up on any work missed. There are videos on the site for every topic imaginable in secondary mathematics. Every students has a separate HegartyMaths exercise book and we encourage them to make use of these to create their own revision guides.
We set homework at least once a week, and we contact parents to inform them if any homework is missed. Homework is sometimes set online on the HegartyMaths platform. Students have plenty of access to computers in school if there are any problems accessing the site from home.
How parents can help
As a parent you are the most important ally we have in terms of supporting and encouraging the students. Working together we can provide the best environment for them to achieve their full potential. Our expectations are that homework should be completed on time and behaviour should be appropriate for the classroom to ensure a positive working atmosphere for all. As a parent you can help make sure these goals are achieved.
Key Stage 4
Year 9, 10 & 11
WHAT AND HOW WILL YOU LEARN?
Since the GCSE exams have changed to the new 9-1 grading system, we have entered our students for exams through the OCR exam board. They have developed an inspiring, motivating and coherent mathematics specification for the entire ability range. It emphasises and encourages:
- Sound understanding of concepts
- Fluency in procedural skill
- Competency to apply mathematical skills in a range of contexts
- Confidence in mathematical problem solving
HOW WILL YOU BE ASSESSED?
There are three papers in the new GCSE exams, which are all equally weighted.
- Paper 1 (one-third of the GCSE) - calculator
- Paper 2 (one-third of the GCSE) - non-calculator
- Paper 3 (one-third of the GCSE) - calculator
This course will be assessed at the end of Year 11 by these three examinations. Students will be assessed at regular intervals throughout the year.
Mathematics is a language. It is the language without which science, commerce, industry, the internet, and the entire global economy is struck dumb. It is the only truly universal language, and it is an essential part of our personal and working life.
As such, the GCSE qualification is recognised by both Universities and employers, as a way of checking students have the numeracy skills needed to equip themselves for everyday life and further study.
Those students who achieve a grade 6 or higher on the higher paper have the opportunity to continue the study of mathematics through the A-level courses. Students that achieve a grade 4 or higher on either tier have the opportunity to continue to study mathematics through the new Level 2 Certificate in Core Mathematics.