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Mathematics & Further Mathematics

Introduction

The Maths department ethos is to stretch students academically and to develop Mathematical curiosity and stamina through the passion and enthusiasm of the teaching that students receive. Mathematics is the most popular A-level choice for our students. In addition, Further Mathematics continues to be a very popular choice amongst our top academic students – currently we have 41 students in Year 12 and 30 students in Year 13 taking the double Mathematics award. We have a very large number of students who go on to study Maths and Maths related courses at top Universities including Oxbridge.

The Maths department, which has 12 enthusiastic and dedicated members of staff, is very proud of its outstanding exam results, being one of the top performing local Grammar schools in the new GCSE Mathematics examinations. This year we had over 150 students in Year 12 alone studying Mathematics A-level due to the consistently successful GCSE and A level results, as well as 127 Mathematics students in Year 13; which highlights how popular Mathematics is as a subject at the RGS.

In order for students to show off their Mathematical Problem-Solving skills we regularly have over 650 entries to the UKMT Maths Challenges; at Junior, Intermediate and Senior level, with many students who progress on to the Kangaroo and Olympiad rounds. The Maths department also has 8 dedicated Maths Subject Ambassadors; these are Year 13 students who apply for the role, and help promote Maths within the RGS, and to enthuse all students of all abilities.

GCSE

All Year 10 and 11 students follow the AQA Higher tier Maths GCSE syllabus. Students are taught in sets, with the top sets in Year 11 given the opportunity to study the AQA Certificate in Level 2 Further Maths. This is an extra qualification to GCSE Mathematics that is designed to stretch and challenge high achieving Mathematicians.

A Level

Mathematics is a very popular A-Level subject at RGS that further develops our students algebra and calculus skills, supports other subjects and further educational courses beyond school. The A-Level course provides students with the ability to think logically, develop their mathematical reasoning, strengthen their understanding of mathematical techniques and recognise the relevance of them in the real world through modelling along with enhancing their problem-solving skills.

The Mathematics A-Level course consists of Pure, Mechanics and Statistics components that are all examined at the end of Year 13. Students will sit three 2 hour exam papers (2 Pure and 1 Applied) which are out of 100 marks each; calculators are allowed for all three exam papers. There is no coursework involved.

Further Mathematics

Many students who study Mathematics also choose to study Further Mathematics. The course provides a solid foundation for further study in Mathematics and other disciplines that make extensive use of mathematical skills. As part of this course at RGS we teach Further Pure and Further Mechanics.

The Further Mathematics A-level course consists of Core Pure, Further Pure and Further Mechanics components that are all examined at the end of Year 13. Students will sit four 90 minute exam papers (2 Core Pure, 1 Further Pure and 1 Further Mechanics) which are out of 75 marks each; calculators are allowed for all four exam papers. There is no coursework involved.