Overview
Mathematics is at the heart of Mercia School’s traditional curriculum. It helps pupils make sense of the world around them – not just in terms of numbers but, increasingly, in more complex arenas: algebra, geometry, statistics and probability. Mathematical knowledge and skill opens the doors to deeper understanding in many more subjects – especially the sciences. Grappling with increasingly difficult mathematical challenges means pupils develop methods to solve problems even when solutions may not immediately seem obvious.
Pupils at Mercia School have built solid foundations of mathematical knowledge and skills throughout Key Stage 3. All pupils have become increasingly fluent in working with number. On top of that, the main principles of algebra, shape, proportion, ratio, probability and statistics have all been introduced. Whatever their starting point, Mercia pupils have made excellent progress – this has been down to their hard work as well as some of the extra aspects of maths at Mercia School, including: the Accelerated Maths programme; the Junior Maths Challenges; and optional enrichment in areas such as decision maths and puzzles.
The maths curriculum for Year 10 and Year 11 has been desgined to build on and strengthen the knowledge and skills taught in Key Stage 3. Increasingly, pupils will apply what they know to situations involving multi-step problems. Thye will be expected to communicate as expert mathematicians. The content and structure of the GCSE curriculum will appear familiar to pupils. It will comprise of a mix of number, algebra, shape, probability and statistics topics. These will be increasingly challenging – for example with the introduction of trigonometry, surds and algebraic proof. As always, Mercia teachers will introduce and explain new topics carefully before pupils practice their newly – gained knowledge.
Year 7
Term 1
Number 1: types of number, operations, place value, negatives
Term 2
Number 2: powers, roots, order of operations, rounding and estimation
Term 3
Number 3: order of operations, time and money, rounding and estimation
Term 4
Fractions – equivalence, operations and reciprocals
Term 5
2D Shape (1) – notation, units, perimeter, area, angles
Term 6
Application of number – percentages, proportional reasoning
Year 8
Term 1
Algebra (1) – equivalence and manipulation
Term 2
Algebra (2) – solving linear equations
Term 3
Ratio, further proportional reasoning and introducing formulae
Term 4
2D Shape (2) – Trapezia, circles, angles
Term 5
Statistics – representing data and working with averages and measures of spread
Term 6
Introduction to Probability
Year 9
Term 1
Sequences and graphs
Term 2
3D shapes
Term 3
Inequalities and simultaneous equations
Term 4
Standard form, limits of accuracy and transformations
Term 5
Constructions, loci and Pythagoras’ Theorem
Term 6
Further linear algebra, introduction to quadratics and algebraic fractions
Year 10
Term 1
Surds and similarity
Term 2
Similarity and congruence proofs and right angled trigonometry
Term 3
Compound measures, proportion and hard ratio
Term 4
Surds and indices, advanced graphs and rates of change
Term 5
Conditional probability, completing the square and functions
Term 6
Graph transformations and advanced trigonometry
Year 11
Term 1
Circle theorems and vectors
Term 2
Iteration, cumulative frequency and histograms
Term 3 – 6
Personalised revision
Exam board
Execel
Years 12-13
We offer this subject for scholars at sixth form. Click these links to find out more. Mathematics and Further Mathematics.