Maths
Vision Statement
All pupils at Alderman White School will have the opportunity to succeed in Maths. We believe learning should be enjoyable and we aim to foster a supportive and inclusive environment for students to make progress. We see Maths as a collaborative subject, and nourish confidence through celebrating effort and contribution as well as attainment. We use mini-whiteboards regularly, to reduce the fear of making mistakes and encourage a culture of collective responsibility, self-regulation and reflection. We have also developed a comprehensive IT-based curriculum to support remote learning and revision.
Effective dialogue, discussion and high-quality questioning & oracy are at the heart of our approach to teaching & learning. We aim to make learning fun through use of practical activities and games, and we have a common-sense philosophy to assessment and feedback.
Students are taught Maths in mixed ability groups for KS3 and then set for GCSE in Year 10. Outcomes in Maths are excellent and consistently exceed national averages. We have many students with outstanding academic achievement who are given opportunities to showcase their talents in the UKMT Maths Challenge and who also have the opportunity to study the L2 Further Maths qualification in Year 11. Intervention is offered to GCSE students requiring additional support.
Equipment
Pupils are expected to bring a blue/black and green pen, a pencil, a ruler, a protractor and a calculator to every lesson, along with their exercise book and fully charged device. (Calculators can be purchased via ParentPay)
Implementation
Pupils are taught topics in two-week blocks with a deep focus on relevant skills and their applications. Links are made to other topics in problem-solving tasks and significant consideration is given to interleaving skills to ensure long-term retention. This is supported with our homework structure: One piece of homework per fortnight will be set on a topic from approximately three weeks prior. Each topic is assessed with a brief post-test that is target-tackled by the students to highlight particular skills that require further practise. Students monitor their own progress by completing the grids on the front cover of their exercise books. Pupils also sit a more comprehensive termly assessment that is more representative of a GCSE examination, to help prepare students for meeting GCSE assessment objectives of recall, reasoning and problem solving, as well as assessing long-term retention. This also serves to develop resilience and good practices such as effective revision and exam technique. At KS3, these assessments will be graded using bands which indicate an estimated GCSE grade as follows: Emerging: GCSE grades 1-2, Developing: GCSE grades 3-4, Secure: GCSE grades 5-6, Mastery: GCSE grades 7-9. At GCSE, these termly assessments will take the form of past GCSE examinations and will inform pupils’ Current grade. We then use historic internal progress data from similar starting points to provide pupils with Predicted GCSE grades. Understanding this methodology is helpful for pupils and parents to contextualise progress and performance and to inform actions that may be required to achieve Target grades.
Useful Documents & Links
Below you will find a copy of our Scheme of Learning for all year groups (which is available in greater depth to students of Alderman White on Google Classroom) and useful AQA links for information and resources pertaining to GCSE Maths & L2 Further Maths.
- AQA Maths GCSE: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/mathematics/gcse/mathematics-8300
- L2 Further Maths: https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/mathematics/aqa-certificate/further-mathematics-8365
Additional Resources
We offer a range of revision guides to support students working at all levels that can be purchased via ParentPay. (Please speak to your class teacher if you are unsure which is most suitable.)
We also encourage the use of several online resources:
- Google Classroom: https://classroom.google.com
- Dr Frost Maths: https://www.drfrostmaths.com
- CorbettMaths: https://corbettmaths.com/contents
Any further questions you have should be directed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
