St Mary's School Calne

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Why Choose St Mary's?

Mathematics

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Pacing the distance between the feet of the Tour Eiffel'Like the crest of a peacock so is Mathematics at the head of all knowledge.' (An old Indian saying) 

Mathematics is a core curriculum subject that is studied by all pupils up to GCSE and it is a popular subject at AS and A Level where there is a strong take up for Mathematics and Further Mathematics.  A host of Mathematics activities are run throughout the year, including UKMT Mathematical Challenges, the annual Inter-Company Mathematics Challenge for the Fourth Forms, visits to Techniquest for the Mathamagic show, lectures and masterclasses at the University of  Bath and the MIV Form cross curricular week in Paris.

The Mathematics department is actively involved in promoting the consistency of mathematical learning across the curriculum.  Continued close liaison with other departments is aimed at enabling girls to use and apply Mathematics effectively in all their subject areas.

GCSE course

This is a transition period in GCSE Mathematics.  We began teaching our new, two-tier syllabus in September 2006 and in October the abolition of Mathematics GCSE coursework was announced, to take effect after the 2008 GCSE examinations.  We have girls working on two different syllabus specifications at the current time.

  • The UV Form and the LV Form Express set are preparing for the OCR three tier examinations in June this year.
  • The LV Form and the UIV Form Express set are following the modular course for the AQA, two-tier GCSE with coursework.  The LV Form girls will have completed three of the five modules by the end of the Summer Term.
  • Most of the current UIV Form cohort will embark on their GCSE course in Autumn 2007 and they will follow a new syllabus leading to the non-coursework modular examinations for first certification in 2009.


Our most gifted mathematicians are assigned to Express sets and they work towards GCSE in their LV Year.  In the next year they have a reduced number of Mathematics lessons during which they cover the first of the AS Level pure mathematics modules, Core 1.

OCR syllabus 1962A (for examintions in June 2007) 

AQA modular Mathematics course (non-coursework)- Specification 4307

GCE AS and A Levels

Mathematics is a popular subject at A Level and we offer courses in Mathematics and Further Mathematics.  Girls going on to read Mathematics at University also prepare for the Edexcel board’s Advanced Extension Award (AEA).

Changes in A Level Mathematics examinations are due to be implemented nationally in 2011.  In advance of this, St Mary’s has been invited to take part in trialling new four-unit specifications for both Mathematics and Further Mathematics which we will be introducing in the LVI Form from September 2007.  Changes to the single subject specifications are small, though the format of the examinations will necessarily be very different from the previous OCR papers. The Further Mathematics course is now fully dependent upon the single subject, so girls doing both subjects will take AS and A Level Mathematics in their first year and AS and A Level Further Mathematics in their second year.
 

Mrs Maggie Prescott (Head of Faculty)