Maths
“The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple.” ~ S. Gudder, Quantum Physicist
The mathematics department at QEMS has undergone huge redevelopment over the last couple of years and has seen its results improve year on year thanks to the hard work and dedication of staff and pupils alike. In 2008 37% of pupils achieved grade A* - C at GCSE, in 2009 45% achieved A* - C and we expect to get at least 50% of pupils achieving grade C or above in the 2010 GCSE results, due to be published in August.
The department consists of 5 staff based in a suite of rooms dedicated to maths, all with interactive whiteboards and with access to 3 sets of ‘voting pods’ to encourage interaction between pupils and their teachers and enhance learning and teaching.
After completing a transition unit of work in the first 3 weeks of September, pupils in year 7 are set into ability groups for teaching to allow best progress to be made. Pupils are regularly tested to ensure good progress is being made by all and where necessary, sets are adjusted.
From September 2010, pupils will begin studying for their maths GCSE at the start of year 9 and complete it at the end of year 10, allowing them to take another subject, such as GCSE Statistics or Functional Skills Maths, and gain an additional qualification.
Under the new maths GCSE, pupils will be following OCR’s modular specification which consists of two module units and one terminal examination. The exams are not tier-restricted so pupils can sit a combination of higher and foundation tier papers giving the flexibility to tailor the course for personalised learning, helping pupils to achieve as highly as possible.
For more information on the GCSE Specification, see the OCR website: OCR
