Vision Statement
The vision of the Mathematics department, is aligned with the schools vision, which is to aim to be the best Mathematics department in the country.
Mathematics is wonderful, and exists in everything we do, every day. For experienced and competent mathematicians, equations are beautiful, useful and life changing. Maths is simply all around us and shapes the way we make sense of our world.
The Maths Department aims to share this love and passion with students on their mathematical journey, with an uncompromising belief that there is a great mathematician in us all. Throughout a students’ time at St. Oscar Romero, students will be encouraged to engage, explore and experiment with all forms of maths, using concrete, pictorial and abstract representations of this unique language, which underpins the foundations for success in all areas of school life, as well as life beyond.
The Team
Dr M Palser – Teacher of Mathematics / Second in Department
Dr S Lockwood – Teacher of Mathematics / Key Stage 3 Lead (shared)
Mr C Sloggett – Teacher of Mathematics / Key Stage 3 Lead (shared)
Mr M Aitchison – Teacher of Mathematics
Mr T Allum-Watts – Teacher of Mathematics & Economics Subject Lead
Mr P Hibbert – Teacher of Mathematics / Assistant Headteacher
Mr C Juman – Teacher of Mathematics & Economics
Mr D Negus – Teacher of Mathematics
Mr R Noye – Teacher of Mathematics / Deputy Headteacher
Miss A Rollings – Teacher of Mathematics
Mrs M Syndercombe – Teacher of Mathematics
Intent
We believe students deserve a creative and ambitious mathematics curriculum, rich in skills and knowledge, which inspires them and prepares them well for everyday life and future employment. Furthermore we believe that all students can master all concepts during their time at St. Oscar Romero, with the only differentiator being time itself. Our mathematics curriculum will give students the opportunity to:
- Master Mathematics; acquiring a deep, long-term, secure and adaptable understanding of the subject, to unlock the door to more complex, ambitious and inspiring fields of maths.
- Swiftly become numerate, confident mathematicians, where skills are flexible in a variety of contexts.
- Become fluent in the fundamental concepts of mathematics, through varied and frequent practice in problem solving, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge quickly and accurately in varied contexts.
- Apply reasoning to mathematics and extend to real life by following lines of enquiry, investigating links and relationships, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language and notation.
- Deploy the skills they have developed to solve challenging and complex problems by applying their mathematical mastery to a variety of problems with increasing skill, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions; as opposed to purely following a process.
Implementation
At Key Stage 3 students have 4 lessons a week and study a knowledge and skills rich curriculum focusing on the key strands of mathematics: Number, Algebra, Ratio and Proportion, Geometry, Statistics and Probability.
Lessons are coherently organised and sequenced to build on prior learning adopting a mastery approach for Maths.
Lessons in all years begin with an interleaving Do It Now Task (DINT) starter used to recap knowledge and skills from prior learning, to support our students’ retention of key mathematical content and application. These Do It Know tasks follow a thematic approach each week, so that similar skills are focused upon and strengthened so when placed under the pressure of an examination situation they remain consistent.
At Key Stage 4 students have 5 lessons a week, one per day and these lessons follow a similar format in terms of the Do It Now tasks, however lessons now have a more rigorous and focused examination approach. All students will be expected to complete a full GCSE paper per week as part of their independent study to build their examination resilience and awareness.
Homework forms a significant part of our students’ independent study. The primary tool used for homework at Key Stage 3 is Sparx Maths, which is an online platform that promotes mathematical fluency through a diagnostic approach to reinforcing taught skills and knowledge, as well as interleaving past content. At Key Stage 4, a more focused approach on examination skills is implemented with students completing weekly past papers, which are reviewed each week. This is also complemented by further online work on Sparx Maths as well as fluency focused work for Foundation Maths students.
Impact
As a result of the quality of the curriculum and teaching and learning in Maths, we are proud to celebrate that students at Romero’s receive a mathematical education that is truly first class. Our results over time are illustrated in the table below.
| % 4 (standard pass) | % 5 (strong pass) | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2018 |
75% | 47% | + 0.52 | 4.6 |
|
2019 |
76% | 48% | + 0.03 | 4.5 |
|
2020 |
87% | 61% | N/A | 5.7 |
|
2021 |
92% | 62% | N/A | 5.4 |
| 2022 | 95% | 81% | + 1.22 | 5.7 |
| 2023 | 91% | 68% | + 1.0 | 5.5 |
In addition to the above outcomes, we are proud to support our students to leave St Oscar Romero Catholic School as students who are mathematically aware, able to understand their own finances and solve mathematical problems in real life. Additionally, our students leave us being able to recall and apply their mathematical learning in a range of contexts and future occupations, as well as understand the importance of Maths in the ‘real world’.
Inspiration
In addition to the taught curriculum for Mathematics, the department also strive to extend and add value to our students’ mathematical education by through a variety of activities, events and visits which aim to inspire a lifelong love for Maths. Example of this are:
Maths Week
Each year, a week is devoted to developing our students’ knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of Maths in a variety of settings. During this week there are offsite visits for every year group, as well as themed events and competitions that take place in school. Example of these are:
- Year 10 visit to Sussex University to explore careers in the STEM sector, as well as to explore Maths at a more advanced level and give them to opportunity to attend Maths lectures and seminars.
- Year 9 visit to Bletchley Park, focusing on the real-life application of Maths, encouraging students to develop their awareness of the significance of Maths in world events, particularly the Enigma Machine and the work of codebreakers during the wars.
- Year 8 visit to the Brighton 360, Escape Rooms and Puzzle Days to develop our students’ prowess at problem solving.
- Year 7 visit to Herstmonceux Observatory to understand how Maths relates to astronomy, and space exploration.
Maths week also has a primary outreach dimension with over 100 of our feeder Primary School students joining us to complete in the Annual Maths Challenge.
Competitive Maths
Each year our students compete in the UK Mathematics Challenge, as well as complete against other schools in Maths Competitions.
Pi Day
A really fun day where students seek to remember Pi to as many decimal places as possible, with the reward being to pie (pi!) the Headteacher and Head of Year, for the winner.
