As students study mathematics, learning both numeracy and logic, it provides a basis for further curiosity and creativity in many subjects and related disciplines. A strong understanding of mathematics underpins topics in science and can support research in other social sciences. Improving students' ability to think logically allows them to become more efficient in an array of other tasks both in and out of school.
In Key Stage 3 (KS3) we offer a maths course tailored to the ability of each individual. The 5 courses A to E, which get progressively more challenging, build on the foundation skills mastered at primary school and prepare students well for the needs of their GCSE courses beginning in Year 10. Students are tested termly throughout this period and changes of set and scheme occur at appropriate times. The results of our testing will be available on the go4schools.com website for you to monitor the progress of your child.
Each of the 5 schemes has a learning log detailing all the topics covered and links to corresponding tasks on the SparxMaths website.
The following table provides a link to the learning log for the scheme of work for each Key Stage 3 class.
|
Year/Set |
Set 1 |
Set 2 |
Set 3 |
Set 4 |
Set 5 |
|
7 |
C | C | B | B | A |
|
8 |
D | D | C | C | B |
|
9 |
E | E | C | C | - |
At the end of each term a full assessment based on the material covered is sat by all students. However, unit tests are also sat after each 3 or 4 week module to continuously monitor levels of understanding. Results of all these assessments are made available to parents on the Go4Schools website. Progress is also triangulated with results of homeworks such as tasks set on SparxMaths, exercise book scrutiny and teacher’s own targeted classroom questioning. Any issues identified can then be addressed by further teaching in subsequent lessons.
Homework is set weekly and normally takes the form of assigned tasks from the SparxMaths website.
Maths is everywhere in life. Encourage your child to look for numerical patterns, or to apply their mathematical skills to the real world – working out the area of a room’s walls to calculate how much paint to buy, estimating the cost of a supermarket shop etc.
Extra mathematics support can be found on the SparxMaths website or another excellent website is Corbettmaths. Both provide help videos and practise questions.
Simply practising times tables is a really valuable activity which can be done at home to sharpen the numeracy skills of children.
Please ensure your child arrives at school every day with the correct mathematical equipment. In addition to normal writing equipment, they will require a scientific calculator – we recommend a Casio FX-83 or FX-85. A protractor and pair of compasses would also be helpful.
The course is studied at either Higher tier or Foundation tier level.
In year 10 and 11 the following table gives detailed information of the topics being covered on the GCSE course.
| Year 10 |
Set 1 Higher tier |
Set 2 Higher tier |
Set 3 |
Set 4 |
Set 5 |
|
Year 11 |
Set 1 Higher tier |
Set 2 Higher tier |
Set 3 Higher tier |
Set 4 |
Set 5 |
There are weekly homeworks consisting of either online work set on platforms such as SparxMaths and www.DrFrostMaths.com, or written homeworks such as completing a past paper.
Students will be given termly assessments at Christmas and Easter in year 10 to monitor progress. At the end of year 10 all students will sit a more comprehensive end of year exam. In year 11 all students will sit a mock examination in November and a subsequent exam closer to Easter. All assessment results will be published on the Go4Schools website. Teachers will also use results from weekly homeworks and classroom questioning to monitor understanding closely and allow future lessons to be adapted to meet any identified learning needs.
During the course of year 11, there are weekly support enrichment sessions targeted at both Foundation and Higher tier papers. We also encourage our students to do further work around taught topics using resources such as SparxMaths.
The most efficient way of revising for Mathematics is to work through past papers. Many past papers and their solutions can be found on the internet and I would recommend students attempt as many as possible, researching topics which they found difficult.
Students need to have a set of mathematical equipment including a scientific calculator. We recommend a Casio FX-83 or FX-85 which has all the necessary functions required for this level of mathematics. Students should also have a ruler, protractor and set of compasses.
We also offer the AQA Further Maths Level 2 qualification (8365) as a weekly afterschool enrichment. This gives students the opportunity to sample a little A level material before 6th form.
We also offer Statistics GCSE and the AQA Further Maths Level 2 qualification (8365) as a weekly afterschool enrichment. This gives students the opportunity to sample a little A level material before 6th form.
Melbourn Village College
The Moor, Melbourn
Royston SG8 6EF
Tel: 01763 223400
Email: office@melbournvc.org Absence: absence@melbournvc.org
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Melbourn Village College is an academy of The Cam Academy Trust, a company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales with company number 0749 1945.
The registered office is at Comberton Village College, West Street, Comberton, Cambridgeshire, CB23 7DU
