Why do we learn further maths?
Further maths is a challenging and rigorous A level, moving at a fast pace. We teach the Further Maths course in parallel with the Maths A level course. This means work in the standard A Level often complements the work done in the Further Maths A Level course.
Our approach
We follow broadly the sequencing of the Pearson Edexcel textbooks, progressing the topics in order of approximate difficulty. This lets the students take ownership of their learning, as they know exactly what is coming up, and have a permenant bank of examples and practice questions.
We wrap the content of each topic into "fertile question" equiries, each of which is phrased to emphasise the key idea behind the mathematics. The connects the theme of the topic to a wider context, challenging and motivating the students.
All of our teachers teach everything. We want our students to be fully immersed in one topic at a time, and we want our teacher to all be able to support students across the whole curriculum.
We push our students by running a maths society each week, DIGITS, in which both teachers and students present and discuss extra curricular ideas. We run trips to Bletchley Park and enter Ritangle and UKMT competitions. In addition, we support students in preparing to take university entrance exams such as STEP and MAT.
Year 12
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What makes a stand out function? How does changing the power of x change an equation? How are models of growth and decay related? What can calculus tell us about a function? How does maths get you to the moon? Do sin, cos and tan have hidden identities? Is it possible to differentiate and integrate all functions? What does it mean to prove something? |
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Complex Numbers Argand Diagrams Matrices Linear Transformations |
Discrete Random Variables Poisson Distribution Roots of Polynomials Proof by Induction |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
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How many ways are there to represent a vector? How might an understanding of forces help a sportsperson? What is the kinematics behind cricket? How many ways can you balance a pencil? How does an engineer design a stable structure? Can sample of weather tell us about long term trends? How accurately can mathematics predict black swan events? How do statisticians test a hypothesis? How can we model the height of a population? |
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Momentum and Impulse Series Volumes of Revolution |
Chi-squared Test Hypothesis Testing on Poisson Distributions Work and Energy Elastic Collisions |
| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
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What is a better name - complex numbers or imaginary numbers? How do computers do mathematics? What is the cheekiest trick in mathematics? |
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Further Vectors |
Revision End of year exams |
Year 13
| Autumn 1 | Autumn 2 |
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How did Leibniz help start a revolution? How can vectors help us handle three dimensions? What's the most beautiful equation in maths? When are Cartesian coordinates not the best frame of reference? What exactly do hyperbolic and trigonometric functions have in common? Gibt es andere Methoden in der Infinitesimalrechnung? What does harmony have to do with differential equations? What does it mean for a car to have horsepower? What does the coefficient of restitution say about a ball? |
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Complex Numbers Series Hyperbolic Functions |
Geometric and Negative Binomial Distributions Hypothesis Testing for NB and Geometrics |
| Spring 1 | Spring 2 |
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How far does a spring extend? How far can the Poisson distribution help hospitals plan shifts? How many cards do I need to pick before I get four aces? How likely is it that the sample accurately represents the population? |
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Central Limit Theorem Probability Generating Functions Quality of Tests Elastic String and Springs Elastic Collisions in Two Dimensions |
Chi squared test Central limit theorem Probability generating functions Revision Mock Exams |
| Summer 1 | Summer 2 |
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| Revision | Exams |