Maths
Small class sizes, set according to ability, teaching pupils at a level that’s right for them
Our aim is to allow all pupils to develop their understanding of mathematical concepts at a rate suitable to each individual to ensure that they maintain confidence in their ability and develop a secure foundation, particularly in arithmetic skills. Whatever job you go on to do in life, employers will usually want to know your English and Maths GCSE Results. Therefore, it is vital that pupils get a thorough and comprehensive grasp of this subject from a young age, to give them a solid base for the future. Small class sizes that allow tutors more time to work with individual pupils are therefore very important for providing this. Throughout the school mathematics is taught in sets with a maximum set size of sixteen and lower ability groups being kept much smaller. Pupils are set according to ability to allow pupils to be taught at a pace that best suits their needs, with pupils sitting tests every half term and end of term from Year 6 onwards to monitor their progress and understanding. Higher sets will develop their mathematical skills to a greater level in each topic area. Our more able pupils are extended by various competitions, including The United Kingdom Junior Maths Challenge, a competition aimed at the top mathematicians in the country.
Giving pupils a strong base in Maths
Up until the end of Year 5, pupils are taught Maths in the Junior Department, but pupils in Years Six, Seven and Eight are taught in our purpose built block with computer access and data projectors in all rooms. In the Junior Department pupils begin to look at place value, basic arithmetic operations, whole number problems, fractions, decimals, percentages, use of metric measures, tables and learning of number bonds, number patterns, estimation, area, perimeter, angles, degrees, decimals linked to money, shapes and symmetry, 2D and 3D shape recognition, data handling and time, scale drawing, and the use of simple graphs. There are daily sessions of mental arithmetic including multiplication.
Developing Mathematical Skills for final exams
In Year 6, many of the areas that were introduced in the Junior Department are developed, with priority given to the development of number. Particularly important is the recognition of the patterns that support all ideas of place value, as further work on decimals, fractions and negative numbers is developed. The collection of data and its representation by a variety of simple statistical forms provide the core of our work under the heading Data Handling. Pictograms, Bar Charts, Line Graphs and Frequency Tables are introduced and simple ideas of probability are investigated. In Year 7 the main priority continues to be the development of the skills that underpin all aspects of mathematics. Algebra becomes more formal as the skills of manipulating and solving equations are developed. The correct use of calculators is developed, and is work on probability. All of the subjects above are expanded and developed in Year 8. Our Year Eight pupils are prepared for three levels of final exam: Scholarship for the most gifted, our Continuous Curriculum transfer exam, set at a level similar to Common Entrance, for the majority and an easier exam concentration on the fundamental arithmetic skills for those whose development is slower.
Click below to hear an audio recording of Norman Wright, Head of Mathematics
