Key Stage 4

Students at Key Stage 4 mainly study the AQA GCSE Mathematics Syllabus 8300. Some students will be entered for Foundation tier and some will be entered for Higher tier in order to achieve the highest possible grade. All students are entered at the end of Year 11 for GCSE Mathematics course.

How can you, as parents, support your child’s learning?

• Ensure that students are reviewing their work, through discussions with you
• Help organise your child so that they bring all their equipment, books and homework to school
• Talk about Functional Mathematics in everyday situations, such as:
  • Approximating and comparing the sizes of objects
  • Discussing speed and time when travelling in a car
  • Looking at price comparisons and percentages in newspaper adverts
  • Figuring out what a telephone or utility bill actually means and where the numbers come from
  • Talking about time, both 12 and 24 hour clocks
  • Comparing prices and looking at Best buys when doing your weekly shop
  • Budgeting and saving money

Further Maths Level 2 AQA maths qualification

Higher achieving students in Year 11 students will have a chance to achieve an extra Maths qualification to help them bridge their knowledge between GCSE Maths and A-level Maths. Teaching this course has shown that these students achieve higher grades in GCSE Maths as many higher topics overlap between the two courses

Students who should partake in the course:

• Students currently on a grade 5 or above
• Students who are driven to reach higher levels
• Any student who is planning or considering taking A level maths.

Requirements of the students:

• Attend promptly all after school sessions (Mondays 3.15 – 4.15 in D1.06b and Saturday sessions prior to exam in June)
• Do pre-learning prior to sessions to ensure the most effective use of time (Notes on MEI Integral and Google Classroom)
• Complete all homework and online tests (Paper assignments and tests on MEI Integral)
• Give 100% effort

Recommendations for the students:

• Graphing calculators are allowed in the maths GCSE, the Further Maths Certificate and in A level maths and are highly recommended by all exam boards. These calculators are an expensive investment and understandably cannot be purchased by all but we do recommend for any students who are certain to be continuing on to A levels in Maths.
• The main two brands are by Texas Instruments and Casio but please insure you do not purchase one with a facility for symbolic algebra, differentiation and/or integration as these are not permitted.
• Recommended: TI 84 series
• Not recommended: TI – Nspire series as these are not allowed.

Course Breakdown: