JOB DESCRIPTION

The Mathematics Department at Westcliff High School for Boys (WHSB) has been a strong Department for many years. It has had consistently good results in GCSE and Advanced Level Mathematics, and the introduction of the GCSE in Further Mathematics to the top half of Year 10 and 11 has produced encouraging results. The Department has a high uptake of mathematics at A Level, approximately 80% of Year 12, with about 40% of the same cohort opting to study Further Mathematics.

The Department offers a variety of additional clubs which pupils can attend, aimed at helping those in need of additional support, or extending the more able. This includes a particularly effective mentoring scheme, in which Sixth form students mentor those lower down the School. Pupils in Years 8, 11, and 13 will also sit the respective Junior, Intermediate, and Senior Mathematics Challenges organised by the UKMT, and students often progress to the follow-on rounds at all levels. The Department also offers a range of activities for Enrichment Days, including Problems and Puzzles for Year 11, and Mathematics in real life at the Nuclear Races.

Curriculum

A new Year 7-9 syllabus has been designed by the Mathematics staff at WHSB to encourage independent learning, alongside improving examination technique. The Department uses a range of assessment and investigations to introduce, consolidate and extend pupils’ understanding of Mathematics. It does not attempt to accelerate pupil’s learning, but instead it encourages them to develop a more in-depth understanding of the principles they are currently learning.

The Edexcel GCSE 9-1 Curriculum dovetails neatly with the course studied by pupils in Years 7-9, both consolidating parts of it that have previously been covered to GCSE Level but also extending other parts so pupils can access the level 9 grade.

The AQA Further Mathematics curriculum is studied by the highest attaining four (out of seven) classes after they have completed the GCSE 9-1 syllabus. The pupils start this course in January of Year 10 and finish it by March of Year 11, allowing time for revision of both GCSE Mathematics and Further Mathematics material.

In the Sixth Form, students can choose to study Edexcel A Level Mathematics if they attained a Level 7, 8, or 9 in GCSE Mathematics. Sixth Form students study a mix of the Year 1 and Year 2 material from both Pure Mathematics and Applied Mathematics.

Students can also choose to study Edexcel A Level Further Mathematics if they have attained a Level 8 or 9 in GCSE Mathematics. To date, students study the traditional Core Mathematics 1 and Core Mathematics 2 alongside the optional units of Further Pure Mathematics 1, Further Mechanics, Further Statistics, or Further Decision, depending on other subject choices.

Examination Results

Results in all public examinations are strong and those who choose to continue their Mathematics studies at University generally do so at established Universities, including the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge.

In Summer 2023, pupils at Westcliff attained 87.7% 7, 8, and 9 grade in Edexcel GCSE Mathematics, of which 99.4% was 9 to 5. In AQA Level 2 Further Mathematics, 86.6% attained 7, 8, or 9 grades.

In Advanced Level Mathematics, 68.5% of students at Westcliff attained A*, A or B, and in A Level Further Mathematics 72.7% of students at Westcliff attained A*, A or B.

Year 12 do not take a public examination in Mathematics or Further Mathematics but instead take internal examinations.

Job Purpose:

The teacher is required to carry out the general professional duties of a school teacher under the reasonable direction of the Head of Department and Headmaster and to perform such particular duties that from time to time which may reasonably be assigned him/her by the Headmaster. Teachers on the Upper Pay Scale (UPS) will be expected to make broader contribution to the School as a normal part of their work.