Mathematics

We believe mathematical intelligence is expandable and that every child can learn mathematics, given the appropriate learning experiences within and beyond the classroom. Our curriculum map reflects our high expectations for every child, which builds on the mathematical foundations of KS2 and equips students with the knowledge and skills to pursue maths at post GCSE level.

Our curriculum has four fundamental principles.

1. Mathematical thinking

   We believe that it is essential for students to develop mathematical thinking in and out of the classroom to master mathematical concepts fully. We want students to think like mathematicians, not just DO the maths. We believe that during the learning experience, students should; explore, wonder, question, conjecture, experiment and make theories to guide their journey.

2. Mathematical Language

   We believe that pupils should be encouraged to use mathematical language to deepen their understanding of concepts throughout their maths learning. The way students speak and write about mathematics has been shown to impact their success in mathematics. We, therefore, use a carefully sequenced, structured approach to introducing and reinforcing mathematical vocabulary throughout maths lessons, so students have the opportunity to work with word problems from the beginning of their learning.

3. Deep Understanding

   Our practice embeds the importance of deep understanding. We achieve this by allowing the pupils to represent concepts in a variety of different ways using both objects and pictures.

4. Problem Solving

   Problem-solving is at the heart of everything we do. Our curriculum and lessons are designed to allow students to apply their mathematical skills and knowledge in real-life scenarios and allied subjects such as science, geography, computing, business studies etc.

Our aim, as a department, is to create the optimal conditions for students to learn and enjoy mathematics and to learn to solve problems to develop lifelong transferable skills. Throughout our curriculum, we aim to ensure our pupils gain a love and appreciation for all the mathematics around them and thoroughly enjoy mathematics.