Mathematics

At the start of this extraordinary year, we managed to enter pupils for all three categories of the Maths Challenges, albeit all online. These Challenges, run by Leeds Univeristy, are designed to encourage mathematical reasoning, precision of thought, and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems. In the Junior Challenge many of the pupils achieved either a gold, silver or bronze certificate and six went through to the Kangaroo Round which is a fantastic achievement. In the Intermediate Challenge we entered 39 pupils, of which four did well enough to get through to the Kangaroo round. Given than only 6% of approximately 200,000 of all those that enter nationally receive a gold and even fewer get through to the following rounds, this is an amazing achievement. By Easter, the first stage of the Goodfield Centre was complete and the Maths Department moved into its new home. Though this meant a lot of packing and unpacking, it was very exciting; the views from the classrooms are magnificent and the new Department feels incredibly light and spacious, a really lovely space to work in. We now have two large offices and seven classrooms which means all the Maths lessons take place together in one clearly defined area.

The cancellation of the external Summer exam series saw the return of the bridging courses for our Fifth Year, providing an early introduction to their A Level subjects. Redesigned from the previous year’s online provision, we wanted the course to be demanding, useful for pupil’s preparation for the A Level course, but also fun. Mr Wilson came up with an amazing Escape Room; each room had various sets of clues, based on their GCSE Maths. The clues were hidden randomly around the room in balloons, under desks and inside magazines with no obvious connection. he pupils had find the clues, solve them and then connect the pieces together. The clues led to a code to unlock the room. I was amazed at the problem solving skills and perseverance of all the pupils!

Meanwhile, Dr Jackson also ran very exciting and challenging Churcher’s to Campus course for our Upper Sixth, which saw students starting to work on degree level Mathematics. Thus ended a challenging year, but with a new home and Maths continuing to be one of the most popular A Level choices, the Department is in good health!

Mrs T Greenaway