Job Description
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The Mathematics Department at Westcliff High School for Boys (WHSB) has been a strong Department for many years. It has had consistently excellent results in GCSE and Advanced Level Mathematics and Further Mathematics. The Department has a high uptake of mathematics at A Level, approximately 80% of the Lower Sixth, with about 40% of the same cohort opting to study Further Mathematics.
The Department offers a variety of clubs which pupils can attend, aimed at helping those in need of additional support, or extending the more able. This includes a highly effective mentoring scheme, in which Sixth Form students mentor those lower down the School. Pupils in Years 8, 11, and the Upper Sixth 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.
Accommodation and Facilities
The Mathematics Department is well-equipped and all students have textbooks for their various courses. The Mathematics Department subscribes to a variety of teaching and education resources to aid learning. These include Dr Frost Maths, Integral Maths, GoTeachMaths and MathsBox; as well as additional materials provided by the Examination Board.
The Mathematics and Music Building houses seven Mathematics classrooms, which are spacious and fully equipped. The Mathematics Building is adjacent to the Year 7 playground and staff occasionally make use of the outdoor space when conducting investigations with their classes.
Curriculum
A new Lower School (Years 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 studying.
The Edexcel GCSE 9-1 Curriculum dovetails neatly with the course studied by pupils in the Lower School, both consolidating parts of it that have previously been covered to GCSE Level but also extending other parts so pupils can access GCSE 9 grade.
The AQA Level 2 Further Mathematics curriculum is studied by the highest attaining four (out of seven) classes after they have completed the GCSE Mathematics 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.
Information about the School
Westcliff High School for Boys (WHSB) is an Outstanding Grammar School. We continue to hold dear our values and traditions whilst fostering academic excellence and a dynamism which allow us to provide a twenty-first century world class education.
Our record of success is reflected in our outstanding A Level and GCSE results and we are committed to providing the highest standards in all aspects of our provision for pupils.