Full Time Mathematics

Mathematics

Why choose Mathematics?
· Maths students enjoy the subject and find it interesting.
· Maths complements other subjects, supporting and enhancing understanding in the physical or social sciences or providing breadth and balance to an arts- or languages-based programme.
· Maths is a good training for the mind, helping to develop logical thinking and problem-solving skills ? the kind of analytical processes that have helped solve problems of all kinds for thousands of years.
· Students with maths qualifications are numerate and highly employable.
The Mathematics department at Hills Road is one of the leading departments in the country. Nearly half the students at Hills Road take one of the maths courses as part of their overall programme. The department is housed in a purpose-built mathematics Centre with eight specialist teaching rooms grouped around a central resources area, comprising a suite of eleven PCs with access to the internet and the College intranet and also a library area with facilities for individual study. Also available are class sets of graphical calculators and, in every room, a computer linked to the network and to a data projector.

Key Features of Mathematics at Hills Road:
· Additional individual tuition in the lunchtime workshop
· Opportunities to use graphical calculators and computers to help you develop your mathematical understanding
· Extra-curricular programme including trips, competitions and talks

Course Outline - (Awarding body: AQA) AS Level Units
All options cover the same pure mathematics, but different applications of mathematics. The options share many features:
· There is no coursework element in the assessment.
· There are textbooks written specifically for the courses, but teachers will also use a variety of other resources and methods to cover the work.
· Each A level course is divided into six modules, of which three are assessed in the summer of the first year to give an AS qualification, and three during the second year to complete the A level qualification.
· In each year you study two pure maths modules and one module on the application of mathematics to real-world situations.
Some explanation of the main elements of the courses
Pure maths forms the ?tools of the trade? ? the information and set of techniques used to solve problems. It covers topics such as algebra and trigonometry, which appear in GCSE courses, and develops them further. It also covers some new topics, most notably calculus.
Decision maths develops a variety of approaches to problem-solving and decision-making in industry and commerce.
Statistics analyses situations where outcomes are uncertain and takes probability as its starting point.
Mechanics investigates the way in which objects move and how they are affected by forces. It also appears in physics courses and would be particularly useful for potential engineers.

Advanced (A2) Level Units
see above

A level results for Mathematics

Resources and Facilities
· A purpose built Mathematics Centre with teaching rooms grouped around a resource area containing 11 networked computers with access to the Internet and College Intranet and also a library area.
· Stocks of textbooks and other materials.
· Algebra practice, click here..
· A student guide for the transition from secondary school to sixth form.
· Shake off the rust.