Maths Faculty in Focus

Monday 13 December 2010

It is time to defrost your brain and pull on your Santa hat as Maths is going festive. It is that time of year when it is so cold you wish you could stay in bed, but do not fear, as this year's Maths in Focus Week is here to cheer you up. Yes, there is a whole week of festive Maths fun to get you in the mood for the Christmas season ahead. Both pupils and staff will have the opportunity to put their Maths skills and Christmas knowledge together to compete to win daily prizes on our Christmas Related Maths puzzles. There will also be Christmas themed Maths lessons for all year groups during the week, including Christmas functional Maths tasks and a festive quiz. For more information look out for the posters around the school or ask the Maths Teachers for more details

This term we have launched the C>success group in Year 10 aimed pupils who achieved a level 5 in their Year 9 Key Stage 3 assessment. At Deer Park we strongly believe that pupils achieving a level 5 in Maths at Key Stage 3 should go on to achieve a grade C or above at GCSE. This group is therefore a means of supporting and tracking these pupils towards meeting this goal. Each fortnight there is a schedule where a task is set on 1Fri with a help session 2Wed before the task is due in 2Thur. This task focuses on the grade C/D grade skills that underpin unit 2 and are critical to success at grade C.

Other pupils in Year 10 have been busy taking their first GCSE Maths modular exam, worth 30% of the overall grade. We were impressed with the work ethic and commitment shown by our learners and we eagerly anticipate the results in January.

The next GCSE module exam for Year 10 is on March 1st and will be taken by pupils in P2, P3, Q2, Q3, R2 and S1. Pupils can be preparing for the exam as follows:

• www.mymaths.co.uk
• Reference to a revision guide and/or workbook.
  Revision guides and workbooks are available from the Finance Office at a cost of £2.75 each.
• Attending top-up classes after school as listed below:

Meanwhile pupils in Year 11 have been undertaking their mock exams in preparation for their final exams in the summer. A valuable lesson pupils have learned through completing this exercise is the importance of being properly equipped. It is essential for Maths exam that pupils bring black pen, pencil, ruler, calculator (for calculator papers) and ideally protractor and compass.