Thurston Community College

Mathematics Curriculum

Intent of Mathematics

Mathematics is a creative and highly interconnected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems.  It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment.  A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject. 

Mathematics is a fundamental subject: one which not only provides a scaffold for many other subjects but is invaluable in the real world.  At Thurston Community College, we recognise the importance of students becoming fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics and developing the ability to reason mathematically.  We believe that a high-quality mathematics education should allow our pupils to complete problems of increasing complexity and enable them to develop a relational understanding of mathematics whereby they can apply previously learnt concepts to new and non-routine problems.  Our aim is to create a ‘can do’ attitude towards mathematics learning whereby we build on the strengths of our students and view misunderstandings in a positive light, as opportunities to further enrich learning.  We believe that students should feel motivated by challenge and should cherish the feeling of satisfaction that comes with applying their problem-solving skills to complex mathematical problems and real-life situations.

“The study of mathematics, like the Nile, begins in minuteness but ends in magnificence.” – Charles Caleb Colton

Threads of powerful knowledge in Mathematics

Mathematics involves a set of general themes that provide the basis for :

  1. Relevance - reason abstractly and quantitatively 
  2. Number sense - procedural fluency
  3. Spatial sense representation - making connections 
  4. Representation - model with mathematics, conceptual understanding 
  5. Rigour - attending to precision
  6. Coherence - make sense of problems and persevere in solving them, using tools strategically, adaptive reasoning

Cultural reading and enrichment in Maths

  • Maths Matters enables students to come along to get support. This is very popular amongst the students (and staff) and has boasted over 80 students in the build up to exams
  • We offer a GCSE Further Mathematics course for selected students in years 9 - 11
  • We offer Further Maths as an AS or full A Level qualification. This is in recognition of the essential foundation knowledge required for our students to access engineering degrees 
  • All of our students from years 7 - 13 can get involved with the Maths Challenges set by the UKMT
  • Our Sixth Form students enter with National success the annual “Ritangle” competition
  • We frequently have students mentored by the UK Mathematics Trust and, also, the Maths Masterclass mentoring organised by the Royal Institute
  • We have recommended books for students to read in our libraries on both campuses.

Links to Further Information

 

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