Department Staff 

Welcome to the Maths Department. 

Mrs E. Williams - Head of Department

Mr N. Ecob - 2nd in Department

Mrs R. Quayle - 2nd in Department

Mrs C. Mitchell

Miss K. Maskrey

Mr. C. Edwards

Miss. E. Rowland

Miss R. Lukotkova - Teaching Assistant

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."

~ Albert Einstein

The aim of the Maths Department is that pupils enjoy the subject and are continually encouraged and challenged to never settle for less than their very best. Pupils are asked to think about Maths in a creative way working in groups, pairs and independently. We strive to make our teaching clear, positive and inspiring in order to highlight the relevance of mathematics in everyday life. We also endeavour to provide teaching that is committed to the pupils and their individual needs whilst focusing on understanding and helping our pupils become secure and confident with their knowledge of Maths. The most rewarding experience for any Maths teacher is the ‘Eureka!’ moment when a pupil “gets it” and understands something they did not understand before. 

We aim to give all of our pupils the chance to take an active role in every lesson by giving them opportunities to learn how to solve problems, which require the use of mathematical knowledge and techniques. We do this through the use of high-quality active teaching and learning techniques, such as: 

• a well planned curriculum, which builds pupils' understanding

• collaborative tasks, where pupils work in small groups to discuss and solve maths problems

• class discussions using higher-order questioning techniques

• the use of mini-whiteboards to collect and discuss answers from every pupil in the class

• practical activities

• use of ICT to enhance learning through use of Interactive Whiteboards in every lesson

 

Universities and employers value Maths and it is rightly recognised as a Core subject that is vital for all pupils in order for them to be able to access the range of careers that require numeracy and the ability to think through a logical argument. We encourage our pupils to continue their study of Maths at AS/A Level after leaving RHS, particularly if they are considering careers in the fields of Computing, Science, Engineering and Economics. 

Year 7 Maths is taught through the "We Solve" curriculum, consisting of 10hrs per fortnight. All pupils in Year 8 and 9 classes and KS4 classes (Yr 10/11) have 7 lessons of Maths per fortnight. 

From Yr 8 onwards the pupils are placed in specific sets based upon their mathematical ability. This usually consists of two half year sets of three/four classes and the setting is reviewed regularly (once per term) following an assessment of progress.

Key Stage 3 classes follow the National Curriculum Programme of Study and Key Stage 4 classes follow GCSE courses:

WJEC GCSE in Mathematics – Numeracy and WJEC GCSE in Mathematics

The schemes of work have been developed to follow units focusing on Number, Algebra, Shape/Space/Measures and Handling Data. 

The school homework club is available every day before/after school in a computer room to enable pupils to have support with their Maths homework on www.mymaths.co.uk. Catch-up sessions for pupils who have missed work or want to get help on a topic if they are having any problems can be arranged with class teachers at lunch/after school. 

GCSE revision sessions are also arranged for Yr 11 pupils throughout the year after school. (Please ask the class teacher for further details of these sessions.)

The school Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) – Moodle also provides pupils with banks of past papers and support materials and pupils are given access to www.mathswatchvle.com where they can use revision clips and worksheets for additional support. Pupils log in with centre id: rhylhigh and their usual mymaths/moodle details.

 

Pupils are given usernames/passwords and encouraged to take part in Mathematics challenges and games on a variety of websites throughout the year:

 

Other recommended websites for games/enrichment/revision are:

Yr 11/10 follow the new 2 GCSE Mathematics courses: WJEC GCSE in Mathematics – Numeracy and WJEC GCSE in Mathematics. All pupils will be required to sit both qualifications. 

They will be entered at the appropriate level of either Foundation (D-G), Intermediate (B-E) or Higher (A*-C). Both GCSE qualifications will be assessed by 2 exam papers of equal weighting: Paper 1 – Non calculator, Paper 2 – Calculator allowed, there is no coursework/controlled assessment component to either of the courses. 

Early entry may still be encouraged during the November exam session of Yr 11 (Nov 2016) for some pupils.

 

Yr11 – November 2017 & Summer 2018

Yr10 – November 2018 & Summer 2019

 

The class of 2017 were the first cohort of pupils to sit the 2 new GCSEs for Mathematics-Numeracy and Mathematics. Comparisons to previous year’s results are not possible due to these being new qualifications. There was a National dip in Mathematics results but many pupils at RHS had excellent results on the Higher Tier papers in particular, with 10% of pupils achieving A*/A in their GCSE Mathematics. Congratulations to all pupils who managed to achieve their target grades.

 

The class of 2016 improved on last year’s very good results with an increase of 3.7% up from 59.2% to 62.9%. Well done to all of the pupils for their hard work!

 

The class of 2015 achieved very good results with 59.2% of pupils gaining a C grade or better.

The class of 2014 achieved pleasing results. 59.3% of pupils gained a C grade or better, which was above the school target.