Maths

Mathematics has, and always will, play a fundamental role in the development of society and a basic conceptual understanding of mathematical principles is an essential life skill.

Here at Hertswood, it is important that in our maths lessons we develop our students into confident, resilient and inquisitive individuals who think critically and can reflect upon their work. We develop a foundation of critical knowledge and skills which are revisited as often as possible. We then progressively build on these to connect to new topics and activate links to other areas of mathematics and the whole school curriculum.

Our bespoke scheme of work is designed to allow students to have a secure foundation and knowledge of skills on which to build, thus developing concepts and understanding, not only across the maths curriculum but also the wider whole school curriculum.

There are three branches and corresponding knowledge booklets to our scheme of work: bronze, silver and gold. There is considerable overlap between each of the branches, however the more advanced branches cover more content at a faster pace. Our classes are set by ability and each class will follow the branch that ensures students can access the work without barriers and then develop their mathematical skills to be stretched and challenged appropriately for them.

Key Stage 3

In Year 7 we begin with a focus on securing the most fundamental aspects of mathematics in order to create a strong foundation for learning to be built upon over the coming years. Our maths curriculum consists of interleaving ladders and once these foundations have been secured in Key Stage 3 we begin to build on these to link new topics and concepts

Key Stage 4

We aim to have finished teaching the content of each branch by the end of year 10. We then use year 11 to revisit topics, informed by assessments as needing extra intervention. In Key Stage 4 we increase exposure to GCSE content in both our lessons and independent tasks.

Key Stage 5

For our A -level course a similar progressive approach is used to make the transition from GCSE. Students then further develop their problem solving and reasoning skills to help them prepare for their A Level examinations which we offer in Maths and Further Maths. 

Independent Learning Resources

• The Knowledge
• Quizlet
• MathsWatch

Extra-Curricular Enrichment

• Visits to Oxford University - Gifted and Talented
• Saturday Maths - Year 11

Useful Links

• MathsWatch (vle.mathswatch.co.uk)
• Corbett Maths (corbettmaths.com)