Maths

Winners of UK Maths Challenge Regional Final 2009

The Maths department consists of five maths teachers, each with considerable experience in teaching the subject. There are four teaching rooms, each equipped with a projector linked to a computer to enable use of suitable software and DVDs in the teaching process.

Pupils entering the Senior School at age11 are taught in mixed ability classes for the first month and then set according to mathematical ability into three groups. This structure of three sets remains in place right up to the end of the GCSE course. Movement between sets can take place at any time if a pupil is judged to be misplaced. Testing occurs very regularly throughout the year to monitor progress.

The department follows the OCR GCSE Mathematics course with two exams (calculator and non-calculator) at the end of the course. There is no coursework. The top two groups are entered for the Higher tier exam (grades A* to D), the third group is entered for the Lower tier exam (grade C and below). With only odd exceptions, all pupils achieve at least a grade C in Maths at Rendcomb.

At A Level, both Mathematics and Further Mathematics is offered. It is a popular choice of subject, there are usually two Maths groups and one Further Maths group. The OCR syllabus is followed, six modules need to be completed for each A-level.  Mathematics includes the modules Core 1 to 4 along with Mechanics 1 and Statistics 1. Further Maths includes the modules FP1, FP2, D1, M2, M3 and S2.

The department also enters pupils for the National Maths Challenge competitions each year at junior, intermediate and senior level with great success. In 2008 & 2009, the senior team won their way to the National Team Challenge final.