The Mathematics Department occupies the ground floor of the Academy Building and contains 8 classrooms each equipped with an overhead projector. There is a Departmental Office which doubles as a store-room. The department also makes use of a small teaching room for the lowest teaching sets.
The department is staffed by the following full-time members of staff:
The following are all members of the Senior Management team who also teach some Maths classes:
All pupils study Mathematics through Key Stage 3 up to GCSE and then around 20 take the subject at A-level in each of Year 12 and Year 13. At A Level, students have the choice of studying a Pure Maths and Mechanics course or a Pure and Statistics course.
There is also the opportunity to take an extra A Level, called Further Mathematics, for appropriate students.
Details of Mathematics homework schedule can be found here
In Year 7 the focus is on teaching non-calculator skills and improving basic numeracy. Topics covered include the 4 rules of Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication, Division, Decimals and Money, Shapes, Graphs, Fractions and Percentages. As students progress through Key Stage 3 the content of their lessons will differ depending on which set they are in.
In May of Year 9, all students sit their Key Stage 3 exam. Their set will determine which tier they do and which level they can finish up with. At the moment, set 1 takes the level 6 - 8 paper, sets 2 & 3 take the 5 - 7 paper, sets 4 & 5 take the 4 - 6 paper and everyone else takes the 3 - 5 paper. This can change depending on the ability of the sets which lie on the borderline of 2 tiers.
Throughout Key Stage 3, all students will sit past exam papers at regular intervals. Levels are used in their assessment throughout years 7 - 9 and targets will be based on these levels.
Students at Key Stage 3 have the chance to participate in local and national Mathematics challenges. In recent years, King's Academy students have won prizes in Middlesbrough-wide maths competitions, and we are due to enter a national Maths Olympiad this year for the first time.
Mathematics is taught in sets from Day One in Year 7 based on Key Stage 2 results and CAT tests. Students follow the "Success in Maths" program throughout Key Stage 3 and this has helped results improve.
From 2006, mathematics at GCSE level will be taught in just 2 tiers, Higher and Foundation. Students doing the Higher tier can obtain grades from C up to A*. Students doing the Foundation tier can obtain grades from G up to C. Students in the lowest set will also take an Entry Level certificate as well as their GCSE. The examining board for this exam is AQA.
From 2008, no coursework will be required at GCSE level. The modules will be taken at the following times:
At GCSE level, we have just started a modular course, with great initial success. Year 10 have recently sat the Data Handling module and 65% of students achieved a C grade or better. This compares with the following results
Although this rate appears slow and steady, we have performed well as a department when measured against expectation. In Value-Added terms, last years' results meant each student gained an average of over half a grade above their prediction based on FFT figures.
In general, the exam results for the department show good progress throughout every year group, leading to students overachieving when faced with external exams. The department and the school has a very supportive network in place so staff always have other colleagues to call upon in times of need.
We follow the Edexcel A-level syllabus. All students take 3 modules in the Year 12 and 3 in the Year 13. Every AS Level student takes 2 Core modules, C1 and C2, plus their applied module, either Mechanics 1 or Statistics 1 as appropriate. In their A2 year, they will all take C3 and C4 plus their second applied module. Students do have the chance to resit earlier modules, but this is not encouraged. The cost of entry for any resit exam must be met by the student.
A and AS Level Scheme of Work (Excel Spreadsheet)