An important decision for every student is whether they will study Maths content for the Higher GCSE tier, or the Foundation GCSE tier after that point.  We try to get this right towards the end of year 9 so that year 10 and 11 are focused at the right level.  Students with high targets will ideally study the Higher paper contents, simply because their final grade will be limited to a 5 if they were to sit the Foundation paper. 

To help make the right decision, we look at homework scores and assessment scores as an indicator of the level of Maths the student can handle, and of course our teacher's understanding of the student's capabilities from getting to know them well.  

Two Maths papers are sat by all year 9 students towards the end of the academic year - a non-calculator paper and a calculator paper. Both are 1 hour long and are conducted in the classroom in exam conditions. Whilst the questions are taken from past GCSE papers, only topics learned in KS3 are tested to make it fair.

To help with the student revision needed in order to do well in these assessments, we have created a list of topics that will appear in the two assessments. Parents/carers at the recent parents' evening will receive a printed copy of the topics, and students will be given their own printed copy in class.

Two tier GCSE overview:

The Higher paper (designed for students who should achieve a grade 6 to 9) has harder content, and students will need an ability to wrestle with challenging content and to apply a wide range of Maths skills in order to solve problems.  

The Foundation paper has a maximum grade 5 as it has easier content. It is designed for students for whom the Higher paper is too challenging, but the pass mark for Foundation tier is higher so revision will need to be just as thorough as that needed for the Higher tier. 

Whichever paper a student studies for, significant personal revision and effort will be required in year 11 especially, and quality notes will be needed as soon as KS4 studies start towards the end of year 9.

For more information on the KS3 assessments or any other aspects of Maths at Dene Magna, please feel free to email Mr Jones (Head of Maths) at s.jones@denemagna.gloucs.sch.uk