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Mathematics

The Mathematics Department is located in a purpose built block with interactive whiteboards & data projectors fitted in all of our seven classrooms. There are 11 of us in the department, 9 fulltime and 2 part-time. We operate as a team with responsibility being shared across the department. Teachers with responsibility include: Ms C Bailey (Transition Coordinator), Mrs T George (Resource Development and Gifted & Talented), Mrs C Freer (ITT and NQT mentor), Ms M Harris (KS3 Coordinator), Mrs S Pattison (Advanced Skills Teacher and Engineering Diploma Lead Practitioner), Mr C Fehr (Curriculum Leader).  We set ourselves high standards, and we expect equally high standards of our students. The school was re-designated as a Specialist Science College in September 2007. Mathematics is a central strand within this specialism at SVC and we have planned, and are implementing, many exciting projects aimed at improving learning, increasing the uptake of Mathematics post 16, and emphasising the links between Science and Mathematics. Including:

•         Smaller class sizes in Key Stage 4 - benefiting students of all abilities 

•         Targeted intervention in both key stages

•         Vast revision opportunities for KS4 students

•         Greater accessibility to Information and Communications Technology (ICT)

•         Enhanced links with sixth-form colleges and our feeder primary schools

•         Extra provision for gifted and talented students

•         Greater opportunities to enjoy Mathematics outside the classroom

Philosophy - We aim to engender enjoyment and interest in the subject for its own sake while emphasising its use as a tool across the curriculum, in the workplace and in everyday life. As teachers our emphasis is on motivating students by providing a stimulating and supportive environment. Students are involved and their interest maintained through suitably demanding and varied work, including many rich tasks that require them to think for themselves. We continually strive to improve our students’ learning and are therefore involved in a research project studying the impact of complex instruction within a mixed ability setting. 

Mathematics at Key Stage 3 – Across the year groups, the students are largely taught in mixed ability classes.  This creates a variety of exciting teaching and learning opportunities, and the school enjoys a close relationship with the Nrich team at the University of Cambridge to incorporate innovative activities into everyday lessons.  The KS3 scheme of work is continually being updated to include Assessing Pupil Progress (APP) tasks which act as a formative method of assessment, highlighting the depth of the students’ understanding and application of their knowledge.  These tasks also promote the strategies students require for the Functional Skills GCSE in KS4.

Mathematics at Key Stage 4 - In Years 10 and 11 most of our higher students are taught in mixed ability groups whereas our core students are in setted groups.  Our students are entered for the Edexcel’s modular GCSE (2381 for Year 11, 2MB01for the new Year 10 course including functional skills) and the vast majority take modules at higher level.  Our most able students have the opportunity to study Additional Mathematics alongside their GCSE which gives them an insight into A Level Mathematics.   Our early entry foundation students are given the opportunity to re-sit their GCSE targeting a C grade or to study a Btec in Managing Money as well as taking functional skills. Year 11 students have the opportunity to to take an extra lesson of Maths each week and this has proved to be very popular.   Last summer 84% of our students achieved grades A* to C at GCSE. 

Maths Mentors – For those who find Mathematics difficult we have our own Maths Mentors as well as support from the Learning Support Department. The Maths Mentors are a group of trained students who support those from all year groups requiring extra help with their Maths. The students who volunteer for this role are trained before being assigned a student to work with. The feedback from those being supported and their teachers has been very positive and we have been involved in training other schools wishing to set up a similar system.

Outside the Classroom - Our students have the opportunity to participate in the UKMT Maths Challenges, the Cambridgeshire Year 8 Maths Challenge as well as competing in our inter-house Mathematical events.  Recently the school has been involved in research with the University of Sussex, with lessons being recorded as exemplar material for other schools.

Further Education - We are proud that about a quarter of our students each year go on to study Mathematics at A level or equivalent. Many of these students choose to return to SVC during their first term in sixth-form College to talk to Year 11 about studying the subject at this level.