Maths | Sixth Form
Curriculum Intent
No employment can be managed without arithmetic, no mechanical invention without geometry.
Benjamin Franklin
Maths is incredibly important in our lives, we use mathematical concepts, as well as the skills we learn from doing maths problems, every day. The laws of mathematics govern everything around us, and without a good understanding of them, one can encounter significant problems in life.
At Key Stage 5, our students arrive with a view to studying the full A-level course over two years and sitting the A-Level examination at the end of Year 13.
The aims and objectives of this qualification are to enable students to:
- understand mathematics and mathematical processes in a way that promotes confidence, fosters enjoyment and provides a strong foundation for progress to further study
- extend their range of mathematical skills and techniques
- understand coherence and progression in mathematics and how different areas of mathematics are connected
- apply mathematics in other fields of study and be aware of the relevance of mathematics to the world of work and to situations in society in general
- use their mathematical knowledge to make logical and reasoned decisions in solving problems both within pure mathematics and in a variety of contexts, and communicate the mathematical rationale for these decisions clearly
- reason logically and recognise incorrect reasoning
- generalise mathematically
- construct mathematical proofs
- use their mathematical skills and techniques to solve challenging problems that require them to decide on the solution strategy
- recognise when mathematics can be used to analyse and solve a problem in context
- represent situations mathematically and understand the relationship between problems in context and mathematical models that may be applied to solve them
- draw diagrams and sketch graphs to help explore mathematical situations and interpret solutions
- make deductions and inferences and draw conclusions by using mathematical reasoning
- interpret solutions and communicate their interpretation effectively in the context of the problem
- read and comprehend mathematical arguments, including justifications of methods and formulae, and communicate their understanding
- read and comprehend articles concerning applications of mathematics and communicate their understanding
- use technology such as calculators and computers effectively and recognise when their use may be inappropriate
- take increasing responsibility for their own learning and the evaluation of their own mathematical development.
The Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Mathematics consists of three externally-examined papers.
Students must complete all assessment in May/June in any single year.
| Paper 1: Pure Mathematics 1Paper 2: Pure Mathematics 2 |
| Each paper is:2-hour written examination
33.33% of the qualification 100 marks |
| Content overview
● Topic 1 – Proof ● Topic 2 – Algebra and functions ● Topic 3 – Coordinate geometry in the (x, y) plane ● Topic 4 – Sequences and series ● Topic 5 – Trigonometry ● Topic 6 – Exponentials and logarithms ● Topic 7 – Differentiation ● Topic 8 – Integration ● Topic 9 – Numerical methods ● Topic 10 – Vectors |
| Assessment overview
● Paper 1 and Paper 2 may contain questions on any topics from the Pure Mathematics content. ● Students must answer all questions. ● Calculators can be used in the assessment. |
| Paper 3: Statistics and Mechanics |
| 2-hour written examination33.33% of the qualification
100 marks |
| Content overview
Section A: Statistics ● Topic 1 – Statistical sampling ● Topic 2 – Data presentation and interpretation ● Topic 3 – Probability ● Topic 4 – Statistical distributions ● Topic 5 – Statistical hypothesis testing Section B: Mechanics ● Topic 6 – Quantities and units in mechanics ● Topic 7 – Kinematics ● Topic 8 – Forces and Newton’s laws ● Topic 9 – Moments |
| Assessment overview
● Paper 3 will contain questions on topics from the Statistics content in Section A and Mechanics content in Section B. ● Students must answer all questions. ● Calculators can be used in the assessment. |