Staff

Our Head of Mathematics is Mr M R Bishop

Facilities

The department teaches in a suite of rooms arranged around the school’s main quadrangle, all of which are equipped with Clevertouch machines and audiovisual facilities.

Curriculum

Lower School

We follow the MEP scheme for our core curriculum supplemented by the Alpha, Beta and Gamma enrichment books.

GCSE

We follow the Edexcel iGCSE Linear Specification (4MA1). All pupils take iGCSE at Higher Tier. The top sets also study for the AQA Level 2 Certificate in Further Maths.

Sixth Form

We follow the Edexcel specification in Mathematics A Level, Further Mathematics A Level and Further Mathematics AS Level. Mathematics is the most popular subject in the Sixth Form.

Click Here to learn more about Mathematics at A level

Co-curricular Activities

Stretch & Challenge

All pupils in Third Form (Year 7) and Shell Form (Year 8) are entered for the Junior Maths Challenge (in 2019, 173 pupils were awarded gold, silver or bronze certificates) and many other pupils sit the Intermediate and Senior Challenges, and Olympiad papers; we run a weekly enrichment Maths Club (Pi Club) for younger pupils and, for older students, we offer two varieties of Olympiad style problem-solving each week (a senior group and intermediate group). All clubs are very popular and well-attended; we have a Lower School and Senior School Maths Team who have both been regional champions many times and competed successfully in the National Finals in London; we run an enrichment lecture programme with internal and external speakers; we provide extra sessions and support for Oxbridge entrance exams and STEP papers; we regularly have Oxbridge success in mathematics and related disciplines. We also run a twice-weekly Maths Clinic which is run by staff and Sixth Form mentors.

MATHS SUPPORT

We run a twice-weekly Maths Clinic where pupils can drop in and seek support on any aspect of the maths curriculum.  For pupils that find mathematics challenging we have a very enthusiastic and committed team of Sixth Form Maths Mentors who give additional one-to-one support on key mathematical principles, including arithmetic and algebra.

Trips & Visits

Trips have included Oxford University (Ciphers), Bristol University (taster day for maths), The London Mathematical Society (annually) at Birmingham University (including: mathematics of meteorology, chaos theory, knot theory, randomness, mathematical biology), and Sixth Form Inspiration Days (annually) at the ICC in Birmingham. We have also developed a strong link with the Oxford University Mathematics Institute and visit there for enrichment lectures several times each year. Recent lecturers have included Professors Roger Penrose, Alison Etheridge, Ian Stewart and Stephen Hawking.

Destinations

In recent years many students have gone on to read Mathematics and related disciplines at Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol, Imperial College, Warwick, Bath, UCL and Durham among other leading universities both in the UK and abroad.

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