MATHEMATICS

Teaching Staff

Mrs E. Stevens, Curriculum Leader

Mrs A. Richer, Y10 Pastoral Leader

Miss E. Donnelly, Y11 Pastoral Leader

Mrs J. Lyle

Mr B. McAlinden

Mr I. Scott

The Mathematics Department works together to present Maths in an engaging and thought-provoking way, building on students’ existing knowledge and developing their understanding as we introduce each new topic.

Our curriculum has been carefully designed to support students through the transition from primary to secondary school and prepare them for the demands of their GCSE exams in years 11 and 12.

Our evidence-informed approach ensures that students have consistent retrieval practice and that misconceptions are tackled, not avoided, as students move their new knowledge from short-term to long-term memory.

Maths at KS3

In Years 8-10, all students follow the NI Curriculum in their academic classes. Students have 5 lessons per week, with the topics being taught falling under one of these main areas:

Number
Algebra
Handling Data
Shape, Space and Measure
Financial Capability

Students in Year 8 will have a greater focus on Number skills to ensure that they are fully prepared to succeed with the more challenging Algebra skills that are introduced at the end of Year 8 and throughout Year 9.

Student performance is tracked via topic tests at the end of each unit, and in their summative exams in December and June. Time is spent after each test and exam going through the common mistakes. Students are then given an opportunity to try similar questions to demonstrate their improved understanding. For the small number of students who may need more support, class teachers will discuss with students and parents, as appropriate, how to move forward.

At the end of Year 10, students will sit a full GCSE paper for their Summer Exam. The result of this exam is a key indicator for which class will be the most appropriate for Year 11 and Year 12. Other indicators that may be considered include performance across the year, homework engagement, attendance, and behaviour for learning.

KS3 Support Portal: https://sites.google.com/c2ken.net/fhic-maths-department/ks3

You must be logged into your C2K account for this link to work

Maths at KS4

Students at Fort Hill Integrated College study the CCEA GCSE Mathematics Course.

As with KS3, student performance is tracked across topic tests, Winter and Summer Exams. It is important that students prepare properly for these assessments as the data is used to inform the choice of which GCSE modules students are entered for.

Students sit one GCSE module in Year 11 (45% of the final grade) and one GCSE module in Year 12 (55% of the final grade). The combination of modules chosen for each student is designed to maximise their achievement in our subject.

KS4 Support Portal: https://sites.google.com/c2ken.net/fhic-maths-department/home

You must be logged into your C2K account for this link to work

Further details on the course can be found here: https://ccea.org.uk/key-stage-4/gcse/subjects/gcse-mathematics-2017

Homework

Students receive a mixture of paper and online work. The format is at the discretion of the class teacher. Frequency is typically once per week.

Homework Website: www.mathspad.co.uk

Username: FirstameLastName, no spaces. You may have a number at the end if your name is already in the system, your teacher will make you aware if this is the case.

Password: First 3 letters of first name, followed by 923, no spaces.

Eg. Hannah Fry

Username: hannahfry

Password: han923