Maths
In the Mathematics faculty at Magdalen we aim for our pupils to be engaged by the challenges of problem solving and investigative tasks and to develop their independent and creative mathematical thinking skills. We aim for all pupils to become self-confident and resilient mathematical learners.
Mathematics is an exciting subject and we encourage our students to enjoy the challenges it offers and to appreciate the importance of mathematics in understanding and shaping the world around us. As well as preparing our students with the mathematical skills they will need in the workplace and in their everyday adult lives, we also aim to provide students with opportunities to experience the pleasure afforded from the pursuit of mathematical ideas and patterns for their own sake.
We follow a 5 year continuous curriculum throughout with an emphasis on problem solving involving a mixture of investigative, practical and textbook activities.
The graphics below show an indicative summary of the content and order of our curriculum. The specific length of time spent on each unit and the level of difficulty will be adjusted to suit the needs of the class.
Where possible, we will link the current topic with previous topics as well as real life uses to give the content purpose. The students are given mini assessments near the end of each topic to assess understanding.
In Years 9, 10 and 11 there is a greater emphasis on preparation of students for the AQA GCSE in Mathematics. Common topics and key ideas remain as in years 7 and 8 but the complexity and challenge increases.
Mathematics is a very popular subject at A level. Students study the highly respected OCR (MEI) A level. We run a very well attended after-school sixth form support session once every week of term. We also offer Further Mathematics A level for our high-performing mathematicians.
Yr 12 ‘Maths Skills’ curriculum – launched in September 2020 we have devised an additional course to support students studying A Levels where maths fluency is needed, but who aren’t taking A Level Mathematics. This course includes a range of knowledge and skills, supporting current learning and broadening Maths experience.
