Parents' Information
Key Stage 3 (Years 7 and 8)
Students in Key Stage 3 (KS3) are placed into one of 3 bands based on ability.
A Band students are set according to ability in one of 4 sets, and receive 3 one-hour lessons of mathematics per week. Approximately 50% of students in each intake are placed into A Band.
B Band students are set according to ability in one of 3 sets, and receive 4 one-hour lessons of mathematics per week. The extra hour of teaching focusses on the pre-requisite knowledge for upcoming topics, so that students are less overwhelmed when faced with new concepts throughout the year. Approximately 30% of students in each intake are placed into B Band.
C Band students are set according to ability in one of 3 sets, and receive 5 one-hour lessons of mathematics per week. As well as one extra hour of pre-requisites for upcoming topics, C Band students also receive one hour of core maths tuition to boost their general numeracy skills, and thereby make the curriculum content more accessible. Approximately 20% of students in each intake are placed into C Band.
Key Stage 4 (Years 9, 10 and 11)
Students in Key Stage 4 are placed into one of 2 bands based on ability. All students receive 4 one-hour lessons of mathematics per week, and study either the Foundation or Higher GCSE curriculum.
Homework
All students are expected to complete mathematics homework on a weekly basis. Occasionally, homework will need to be completed online; students who are unable to access online homework at home are welcome to use the school's facilities during breaks or after school.
Students in Key Stage 3 should have personal logins for both Doddle and MyMaths. Bothe of these sites are used for homework and ongoing assessment. All students have been asked to record these details in their planners; if it is not there, please encourage them to speak to their maths teacher as soon as possible in order to rectify the situation.
All students in Years 9 to 11 should have personal logins for both MyMaths and Diagnostic Questions. While MyMaths homework is generally only set approximately once per term, Diagnostic Questions tasks run continually (often overlapping other tasks), and are expected to be completed as well as weekly homework set to support the current topics being studied.
Please be advised that the usual sanction for not having homework completed on time will be a lunchtime detention with the student's main maths teacher. Should this detention be missed (or fail to prompt a more diligent approach to homework thereafter), a further detention with the Head of Maths will be awarded. Continued failure to complete homework will usually result in an after-school detention on a Friday.
Other Online Study Resources
Each year group page in the main menu above carries links to various online resources which the Academy subscribes to or which are free to all. If your child is struggling with any maths topic, please encourage them to seek help from their class teacher, or to use one of the many resources available. MyMaths , as well as providing a platform for online homework, has self study lessons on every topic in the GCSE curriculum, as well as a considerable proportion of the wider A-level syllabus. If they prefer, students can view videos of all main topics via Corbett Maths, where they will also find downloadable worksheets from which to practise their new-found skills.
Students in Key Stage 3 (KS3) are placed into one of 3 bands based on ability.
A Band students are set according to ability in one of 4 sets, and receive 3 one-hour lessons of mathematics per week. Approximately 50% of students in each intake are placed into A Band.
B Band students are set according to ability in one of 3 sets, and receive 4 one-hour lessons of mathematics per week. The extra hour of teaching focusses on the pre-requisite knowledge for upcoming topics, so that students are less overwhelmed when faced with new concepts throughout the year. Approximately 30% of students in each intake are placed into B Band.
C Band students are set according to ability in one of 3 sets, and receive 5 one-hour lessons of mathematics per week. As well as one extra hour of pre-requisites for upcoming topics, C Band students also receive one hour of core maths tuition to boost their general numeracy skills, and thereby make the curriculum content more accessible. Approximately 20% of students in each intake are placed into C Band.
Key Stage 4 (Years 9, 10 and 11)
Students in Key Stage 4 are placed into one of 2 bands based on ability. All students receive 4 one-hour lessons of mathematics per week, and study either the Foundation or Higher GCSE curriculum.
Homework
All students are expected to complete mathematics homework on a weekly basis. Occasionally, homework will need to be completed online; students who are unable to access online homework at home are welcome to use the school's facilities during breaks or after school.
Students in Key Stage 3 should have personal logins for both Doddle and MyMaths. Bothe of these sites are used for homework and ongoing assessment. All students have been asked to record these details in their planners; if it is not there, please encourage them to speak to their maths teacher as soon as possible in order to rectify the situation.
All students in Years 9 to 11 should have personal logins for both MyMaths and Diagnostic Questions. While MyMaths homework is generally only set approximately once per term, Diagnostic Questions tasks run continually (often overlapping other tasks), and are expected to be completed as well as weekly homework set to support the current topics being studied.
Please be advised that the usual sanction for not having homework completed on time will be a lunchtime detention with the student's main maths teacher. Should this detention be missed (or fail to prompt a more diligent approach to homework thereafter), a further detention with the Head of Maths will be awarded. Continued failure to complete homework will usually result in an after-school detention on a Friday.
Other Online Study Resources
Each year group page in the main menu above carries links to various online resources which the Academy subscribes to or which are free to all. If your child is struggling with any maths topic, please encourage them to seek help from their class teacher, or to use one of the many resources available. MyMaths , as well as providing a platform for online homework, has self study lessons on every topic in the GCSE curriculum, as well as a considerable proportion of the wider A-level syllabus. If they prefer, students can view videos of all main topics via Corbett Maths, where they will also find downloadable worksheets from which to practise their new-found skills.