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Read full news story...“For the things of this world cannot be made known without a knowledge of mathematics”- Roger Bacon
At Yarm School we believe that good teaching pitched at the correct level for the individual pupil is the main ingredient for helping pupils reach their full potential. No matter what their ability, the Mathematics Department is committed to enriching and motivating all pupils so that their experience of Maths is one of enjoyment as well as accomplishment.
Facilities
The Mathematics Department currently consists of six newly built classrooms, each with its own Interactive White Board and projector. The new rooms are situated adjacent to two of the school’s ICT suites.
Staff
There are five full-time and four part-time teachers within the Mathematics department who bring together a wealth of mathematical experience and a genuine passion for the subject. Whilst working as a team, individual teachers also focus on a particular area of development within the department.
Melanie Pallister (Head of Mathematics)
James Armitage (Maths Extended Project Qualification)
Mick Rye (Team Challenge Co-ordinator)
Jane Guest (Maths Learning Support)
Graeme Addison (Maths Cross-Curricular)
Chris Thomas
Helen Salvage (Maths ICT)
Caroline Rhodes
Lilian Jackson
Curriculum
It is our experience that the vast majority of pupils perform at their best when in a set surrounded by pupils of like ability and those pupils who find Mathematics more challenging or need to progress at a slower pace do better in smaller sets where more individual attention is possible. As we give much consideration to placing pupils in the correct set, it is not uncommon to have pupils in the lower sets achieving A grades at the end of 5th Year.
1st-3rd Year
Pupils in the 1st – 3rd Year are placed in sets but there are opportunities to move between groups as they progress. We aim to develop a sound understanding of our number system, algebra, spatial maths and handling data throughout these years. Our intention is to develop a genuine feeling of how numbers fit together, to prepare them for exam level studies and to develop in the pupils an appreciation of the part which Maths plays across the curriculum and in the real world. We also aim to develop the more creative skills required for problem solving.
An accelerated group is formed in the 3rd Year. These pupils embark on the IGCSE so that they sit the exam at the end of the 4th Year. This group will then study for a further maths qualification in the 5th Year.
Examination Groups
The specifications followed at present for all examinations groups are from the Edexcel Exam Board.
4th and 5th Year
IGCSE Mathematics is studied by most of the sets in 4th Year. The students learn to think logically and in an abstract manner through their study of number, algebra and geometry. They also develop their appreciation of how data can be represented and analysed statistically.
Because the IGCSE specification contains a higher proportion of algebra work, in the course of the 5th Year some of the sets will opt to sit the GCSE instead.
We are very pleased with our results. In 2011, 34% of students entered for IGCSE and GCSE gained an A* and 35% gained grade A. We were particularly pleased to have one of our pupils from the lowest set achieving a grade A and we hope to continue motivating all pupils to aim high. We are also very proud of the students who have found Maths more challenging over the years and for whom a C grade required much determination; they are equally a part of our 100% A* to C pass rate this year.
Sixth Form
We are fortunate in the Mathematics Department to have the experience to offer a wide variety of AS and A2 modules in Mathematics and Further Mathematics. Modules taken depend on the specific needs of the year group as a whole, but the following modules can be taught:
Pure Mathematics C1,C2,C3,C4. Further Pure Mathematics FP1, FP2, FP3. Mechanics M1,M2,M3.Statistics S1,S2,S3,S4. Decision Mathematics D1,D2.
Structure of A level Mathematics:
In the Lower Sixth, the students take three modules to form AS Mathematics. They sit a Core Module (C1) and the Statistics Module (S1) in January and a further Core Module (C2) in June.
A further 3 modules are required to make up the A2 qualification. In the Upper Sixth, the students study Core 3 and 4. For the applied module, the groups can then choose from modules in Mechanics (M1), Decision Mathematics (D1) or perhaps Statistics (S2).
Our students obtained outstanding AS results in 2011 with an amazing 70% of them achieving an A grade. Equally impressive were our A2 grades with 32% of students gaining an A* and 35% an A grade.
Activities
Every year we enter pupils of all ages for the individual and team challenges in order to stimulate their interest in Mathematics. Our pupils have been very successful to date and most recently 57 out of 86 pupils who entered for the Intermediate Challenge received an award.
We want our pupils to experience Maths in a variety of settings and so recently our Sixth Formers took a day trip to Newcastle Theatre Royal to watch three very different speakers give ‘Inspirational Maths Lectures’. Our younger pupils have also been introduced to the wider world of Mathematics in the form of four Master classes held at Teesside University. The Mathematics behind juggling, Rubik’s cube and magic were used to stimulate pupils’ curiosity in this subject. The department will continue to look for activities that will encourage the pupils to appreciate that “the things of this world cannot be made known without a knowledge of mathematics”
