We aim to make Mathematics an enjoyable, interesting and worthwhile experience for all pupils. We aim to foster pupils’ perseverance and resourcefulness in solving problems, and to develop their ability to think logically yet creatively, leading to excellent examination results.
The Mathematics department consists of Adam Taylor (head of department), Christine Herbert and Alicia Viant. Richard Lightfoot and Sarah McDermott belong to the Science department but also teach some Mathematics.
Our lower school programme of study is based firmly on the National Key Stage 3 Strategy, and provides a solid foundation for the IGCSE years.
See also - ipoint links.
In Years III to V, we cover the EdExcel IGCSE qualification in Mathematics. Spreading the course over three years allows for a thorough treatment of each topic, with plenty of time for revision in Year V.
In recent years the department has written its own resources and pupil-centred assessments to support the delivery of the IGCSE course content, and results have risen dramatically. In 2008, our first cohort sat the IGCSE examination, and 37% of girls achieved an A* grade, with a further 27% at grade A, a significant improvement on recent years. Our most able girls can take an extra GCSE in Statistics, and we are also looking at the possibility of piloting a Decision Mathematics AS-level unit with this age range.
See also - ipoint link.
We offer Mathematics and Further Mathematics to both AS and A2 level, again using the EdExcel specification. Mathematics is an increasingly popular choice, and in the current Lower Sixth well over a third of the girls have chosen to study Mathematics. Again, the department has written its own resources to support the course, and examination results are buoyant, with the majority of girls achieving grade A, and often quite comfortably.
The Mathematics course in the lower sixth consists of two units of Core Mathematics and one unit of Mechanics. In the upper sixth, there are two more Core Mathematics units and one unit of Decision Mathematics.
The Further Mathematics course in the lower sixth consists of two units of Statistics and one unit of Further Pure Mathematics. In the upper sixth, there is one more unit each of Mechanics, Decision Mathematics and Further Pure Mathematics.
A-level Mathematics exam board link :
www.edexcel.com/quals/gce/gce08/maths/Pages/default.aspx
See also - ipoint link.
Every year we enter girls for the national maths challenges, and a pleasing number gain gold, silver or bronze certificates. We also send a team of Year II and III girls to the annual regional team maths challenge in York.
Local author Kjartan Poskitt (writer of the Murderous Maths series) speaks to Year I and II every two years, and recently we have invited Angela Gould from King’s College, London to run a session on puzzle-solving and paper engineering with Year I.
Year III take part in Who Wants to be a Mathionaire, a glitzy take on the popular television show, held in the school theatre.
Representatives from a local bank speak to our Year IV girls about finance and internet banking,
and we are cultivating links with York University, who provide speakers for evening lectures to the sixth form and interested girls in Year V.
Recently, we have taken our lower sixth girls to the Maths Inspiration lectures in Leeds, where they learnt about the maths of rock guitar, rollercoaster design, and TV game shows.
Last year we hosted a conference for fifty local maths teachers.