Mathematics

 Curriculum Overview and Philosophy

• The Mathematics Department at Hatcham College is committed to enabling young people to thrive in the highest quality teaching and learning of Mathematics. We believe in teaching Mathematics to all pupils regardless of their age, abilities, starting points, learning needs, background, heritage, first language, ethnicity, social and/or personal circumstance.
• We acknowledge that mathematics is a subject that rests on deeply interconnected understanding of concepts across its six strands: Number, Algebra, Ratio and proportion, Geometry, Statistics and Probability
• The focus of our curriculum is to develop procedural knowledge of and fluency with the fundamental elements of mathematics in order for students to develop conceptual understanding, so that they can solve problems by applying this understanding to non-routine problems and reason mathematically, whilst fostering a love of maths
• We are conscious of our impact on and responsibility to our community, and endeavour to ensure that we are providing maths for everyone through the breadth of provision we give and the additional qualifications we offer
• The curriculum has been carefully designed to continuously interleave content throughout Key Stage 3 and 4, as well as building upon relevant knowledge from Key Stage 2. For example, when looking at multiplication and division in Year 7, we are aware that the majority of our students will be confident with the algorithms themselves. Therefore, we teach multiplication and division in the context of areas of two dimensional shapes, multiplying algebraic terms, metric conversions and calculating the mean.
• The Curriculum focuses on teaching in a sequence that provides building blocks for pupils to access future topics, ensuring that students are challenged through the depth of understanding rather than accelerating through content

How is this subject assessed?

In Key stage 3, the students sit two sets of formal exams, with shorter assessments each half term. These will test both the knowledge and skills that students have recently acquired, as well as the knowledge and skills from the previous years. Due to the nature of our subject, all new learning rests on previous learning, and any given question really spans several academic years.

In Key Stage 4, students will sit two sets of formal Pre-Public examinations, in addition to regular in class summative and formative assessment. We enter students for the Edexcel qualification at either the Higher or Foundation tier. There are 3 papers, 1 non-calculator and 2 calculator papers, each worth a third of the overall grade.

In Key stage 5, students will sit two sets of formal Pre-Public examinations, in addition to end of unit summative assessments. We enter students for the Edexcel qualification for both A level Maths and A level Further Maths.

A level Maths comprises of 3 exams, 2 Pure Maths papers and 1 Applied Maths paper (Statistics and Mechanics). They are worth a third of the overall grade each, and calculators are allowed for all exams.

A level Further Maths is a double qualification, meaning that students will sit all of the A level Maths exams in addition to Further Maths exams in Core Pure 1, Core Pure 2 and two modules of their choice (Further Pure 1 and 2, Further Mechanics, Further Statistics or Decision).

What homework is provided?

KS3

All homework is set on our online learning platform: Sparx Maths. Students should expect to receive an hour of homework per week, and Sparx Maths supports them with videos demonstrating the concepts if they need additional help completing the tasks.

KS4

Homework is set on our online learning platform: Sparx Maths. Students should expect to receive at least 2 hours of homework per week.

In addition to the tasks on Sparx Maths, Year 11 will be expected to complete an exam paper each week using Dr Frost Maths.

KS5

Homework is set on our online learning platform : Dr Frost Maths. Students should expect to receive at least 3 hours of homework per week.

What extra-curricular activities does your subject provide

• Targeted intervention groups for Year 11 and 13
• Key Stage 3 Maths support club
• Junior, Intermediate and Senior Maths challenge
• Royal Institution Maths masterclasses
• Maths feast
• Year 7 scholarship launching September 2023

What useful websites do you recommend?

• Sparx Maths: https://www.sparxmaths.uk/
• White Rose Maths https://whiterosemaths.com/
• Corbett Maths: https://corbettmaths.com/
• Dr Frost Maths: https://www.drfrostmaths.com/
• Maths genie https://www.mathsgenie.co.uk/
• Physics and Maths tutor https://www.physicsandmathstutor.com/

KS3

 We take a carefully progressive and sequential approach to our delivery of curriculum content. Specifically, we ensure that whilst students are given opportunities to practise numeracy as a matter of routine, we also very deliberately interweave aspects of problem-solving and deep conceptual understanding throughout. Students are given ample opportunity to develop their fluency across geometry, algebra and data handling.

KS4

Students continue to be taught new topics, such as Circle Theorems. They are introduced to higher applications of the algebra they have been taught in Key Stage 3. Increasingly they are exposed to problem-solving that is multi-disciplinary in terms of the mathematical topics they will need to have mastered.

Year 10

Year 11

KS5

 Students’ understanding of algebra is built upon to construct robust proofs, solve new types of equations and consider a variety of functions. Students are increasingly exposed to new content, while also getting familiar to applications of Mathematics in the form of Statistics and Mechanics.

Year 12

Year 13