Mathematics

Mathematics at Newton Abbot College aims to provide students with a thorough grounding in all the topics required for GCSE and extending into A level, using the Edexcel examination board. We work closely with other departments in the college to ensure that skills, knowledge and vocabulary are widely transferable and consistent.

 

Lessons are not simply taught from text books, but utilise a wide ranging and varied set of classroom resources, intended to keep the subject interesting and engaging for all. These range from hands on worksheets and appropriate puzzle activities to eLearning resources, especially the MyMaths program and the moodle Virtual Learning Environment, where we can set on-line homework tasks.

 

Our approach to learning and teaching mathematics is reinforced by the latest proven educational techniques, centred on the "Building Learning Power" method, which recommends a wide variety of independent and group learning methods to help develop the individual's learning skills and not simply subject knowledge.

 

In KS3 we aim to build on the knowledge and understanding gained during primary school, and we have built strong links with our feeder schools to ensure excellent continuity and consistency. Students are assessed on an ongoing basis with termly tests to provide key benchmarks. Most students reach a minimum national curriculum (NC) standard of Level 5 by the end of KS3, but our aim is to move students up at least 2 NC  levels from KS2 to end of KS3. With the recent withdrawal of a nationally prescribed SATs exam, we intend to continue with a similar form of objective assessment for Year 9 students whilst embarking on their GCSE syllabus in the spring term.

 

In KS4 students are increasingly encouraged to develop good patterns of study and independent learning. Classroom work focusses on guiding students to reach their full potential in mathematics, and we offer Edexcel GCSE modular examinations at both Foundation and Higher levels. Our target as a college is to be in the top quartile of 5A*-C including maths and english, and our recent trends are extremely promising in reaching this target.

In KS5 we offer Edexcel AS and A2 in collaboration with our partner schools.