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Newlands
Girls’ School

KS4

Pupils follow the new curriculum for Mathematics working towards the Edexcel 1MA1 examination. Three papers at the end of the course (one non-calculator paper and two papers where use of a calculator is permitted) will assess this.  Each paper lasts for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

From June 2016                               Available grades

Higher Tier                                         9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4

Foundation Tier                               5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Pupils are entered for Higher or Foundation Tier – grades 4 and 5 can be achieved from either tier. The Government counts Grade 4 as a ‘standard pass’, whilst grade 5 is a ‘good pass’ (Justine Greening March 2017).

The course content is spread across all three papers. Each paper is worth 80 marks.   Considerable emphasis is placed on interpretation of results and learning facts and formulae (the need-to-know facts and formulae are on the following poster). 

We subscribe to a variety of resources to support the learning of our pupils:

·      An online edition of the textbook www.pearsonactivelearn.com

·      Activelearn which provides access to materials directly linked to the textbook                                                                  www.pearsonactivelearn.com.

·      www.mymaths.co.uk – a great resource providing explanations and practice questions.

·      Homework forms an important part of the course and pupils are expected to complete tasks as                               directed by their class teacher.   In addition, independent study will benefit each of the girls                                       undertaking further practice or revision from the above resources.

·      Additional resources can be found on websites such as www.corbettmaths.com                                        

·      Following absence, it is expected that every effort should be made to catch up. 

·      Obviously notes and examples will need to be copied up, but Maths is a ‘doing’ subject, so                                           catching-up will involve doing all of the class and homework questions, not simply copying                                       solutions from someone else.

·      Pupils are expected to bring their Maths equipment to every lesson – this includes: a scientific                                   calculator*, protractor, compasses, ruler, pen and pencil.

·      The Maths Department recommends the Casio fx-85GT plus. These are available for purchase from                         the Maths Department as well as in local stores and online.

 

Mathrix

Mathrix is a programme aimed at higher ability Year 10 students and runs at least six times throughout the year.   It is designed to stretch and challenge pupils' Maths skills as well as giving them an insight into the          A-Level Maths and Further Mathematics courses.   Some of the topics which are covered include Differentiation, Mechanics and Complex Numbers.