Hurstmere School

The Purpose of the Mathematics Curriculum at KS3 is for our pupils to:

• By using a mastery curriculum model, we aim to improve pupils’ thinking and develop a deep understanding of mathematics by building upon the knowledge attained from KS2.
• Explore and build upon core areas of mathematics, such as number, algebra, geometry, ratio and proportion, and statistics.
• Promote independent thinking and instill reasoning and communication skills in pupils. 
• Demonstrate and illustrate the real-life applications of mathematical ideas and relate to them in everyday life.
• Apply mathematical knowledge to problem-solve not only for the sole purpose of examination, but to apply it to everyday problem-solving scenarios.
• Preparing them to be independent and logical thinking individuals who will be able to function in the real world. We set challenging targets with high expectations for all students and offer a variety of approaches to teaching and learning to engage and motivate them. 

• Mrs K Cross – Curriculum Leader of Maths
• Ms J Brennan – Year 9 & 10 Maths Coordinator, Teacher of Maths
• Ms K Hoang - Year 7 & 8 Maths Coordinator, Teacher of Maths
• Mrs L Davis – Senior Vice Principal, Teacher of Maths
• Mr S Waghorn – Director of Digital Strategy, Teacher of Computing and Maths
• Mr A Davis – Year 11 Raising Standards Leader, Teacher of Maths and PE
• Mr M Dye – Year 9 Raising Standards Leader, Teacher of Maths and PE
• Mr I Parkinson - Teacher of Maths
• Mr D Sturch - Teacher of Maths
• Ms R Groucher - Teacher of Maths and Business Studies
• Ms N Okri - Teacher of Music and Maths

More information about the topics listed can be found in the Student Resources area of Sharepoint.

Examination Board: AQA

Specification Number: 8300 - GCSE Mathematics

Course content:

This will be a two-year GCSE Mathematics course and entry is at one of two tiers: Foundation or Higher. Grades available at these levels of entry are: Foundation tier (grades 1-5) and Higher tier (grades 4-9). Pupils must complete three question papers at the same tier; all question papers must be taken in the same series.

Assessment structure:

Wholly assessed by the written examination at the end of Year 11. A final grade is awarded based on the combined marks of all papers.

GCSE Mathematics is a core subject and is therefore compulsory for all pupils. Pupils are set by ability which is dependent on their prior attainment as well as their potential within the subject.

Pupils will study a wide range of mathematics across all strands of the curriculum; algebra, geometry, number, data, probability and ratio and proportion, which builds on the skills and knowledge from Key Stage 3.

The weighting of the topic areas has been prescribed by Ofqual and is common to all exam boards. The table below shows the approximate weightings of the topic areas for the overall tier of assessment, not for each individual question paper.

This course teaches patience, discipline and encourages pupils to develop the confidence and capacity to problem-solve and make informed decisions. Higher tier pupils will find that the course provides a strong basis to undertake an Advanced Level (A Level) Mathematics course in post-16. For those with a substantial background in mathematics, there is an unlimited number of career opportunities and prospects available – almost all the top fifty jobs in the ‘best’ jobs list involves mathematical reasoning and knowledge.

Coming soon