Introduction

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INTRODUCTION

The mathematics department at The Suthers School are excited by the recent developments in the curriculum. As a team we believe students deserve the chance to understand the maths they will meet in everyday life. The new National Curriculum in Mathematics encourages students to apply the skills they learn to everyday situations.

Mathematics is an interconnected subject in which pupils need to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas. The programme of study for key stage 3 is organised into apparently distinct domains, but students should build on key stage 2 and connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. They should also apply their mathematical knowledge in science, geography, computing and other subjects.

Decisions about progression should be based on the security of students’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Students who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content in preparation for key stage 4. Those who are not sufficiently fluent should consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice, before moving on.

GCSE Mathematics has a Foundation tier (grades 1 – 5) and a Higher tier (grades 4 – 9). Students must take three question papers at the same tier. All question papers must be taken in the same series and will be taken at the end of Year 11. Paper 1 is a non-calculator assessment while paper 2 and 3 are calculator assessments. All 3 papers are 1 hour 30 minutes long. For more information, visit http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/mathematics/gcse/mathematics-8300