What will students be studying in Maths?

Year 12 begin their two year journey through A level Maths with a review of Higher Tier GCSE key skills in the Summer of Year 11. We provide students with a bridging programme and a set of Hegarty Maths links to essential skills for A level to enable them to fill any gaps in their GCSE knowledge. We follow a programme designed to deliver the A level Maths curriculum over two years, with a focus on building the skills and techniques essential for success as the year progresses. The topics and the times allocated to teaching them can be found on the Sixth Form pages of chsgmaths.com.

What do we expect of the students in the classroom?

Students will be expected to bring in their calculator – we recommend the Casio fx-991EX – to every lesson. They should actively listen in class, take notes and most importantly if there is a problem with any of the material that they ask for assistance. A level Maths and Further Maths move at pace, and each lesson builds on the last, so it is essential to make sure that they understand everything we cover in class. We are available after school for help and support if needed.

What homework are they set?

A level Maths and Further Maths students will be expected to continue with their classwork at home for 1 hour for every hour they are in class. This will mainly focus on students completing exercises started in class, practising skills and problem-solving, or completing an online Section Test.

What are the major assessments this year?

Alongside the main school assessment calendar, we assess students at the end of each half-term. These assessments are in the student handbook and will be based on topics taught so far. These will build up a picture of each student’s performance and understanding of topics, and will help inform our predictions of how they will do in the final exam. At the end of Year 13 they will sit their final A Level examinations.

What should students do if they feel they are struggling in Maths?

In the first instance, speak to their Maths teacher. Our Maths team will arrange an opportunity to go through the relevant areas. Bringing questions that they are stuck on or emailing a specific problem to their teacher is a good way of demonstrating to us exactly what is causing the issue so that we can offer targeted support.

How can I support my child?

Please do not worry if you do not understand the topics, you do not have to! The best way to provide general support to your child is by talking to them about their work in the subject and how things are going. Please encourage them to talk to their teacher about any topics they do not understand, or to bring along any problems to their teacher. Alternatively, they can email questions to us. Using examsolutions.net to search for video clips for topics to help is also very effective.

What kind of independent work should my child be completing?

Using the online or physical textbook to practice questions that they have worked on in class is essential. This should be taking place every time they have a Maths lesson in order to deepen their understanding and cement the learning that has taken place. If they are struggling with any aspect, using video tutorials from examsolutions.net or chsgmaths.com will help if they make notes and work through the problems with the video.

Who can I contact for further advice and information?

Please feel free to contact their current maths teacher in the first instance or Mrs Foley, Head of Department: cfoley@carshaltongirls.org.uk