Two important aims of the Mathematics Department are to develop, maintain and stimulate pupils' curiosity, interest and enjoyment in Mathematics, and for each pupil to achieve success commensurate with their ability and potential.

We have been a Kent LEA " Beacon Department" since January 2004 and are available to aid and advise other Maths Departments in the country. The work produced by KS3 pupils has been used as exemplar material by QCA and NFER.

Junior pupils also regularly and successfully take part in the "Maths in Kent" Competitions, as well as national events such as UK Sudoku and World Number Day.

Senior students have had considerable success in recent years in both the National Cipher Challenge, and when coming second when representing Kent in an inter-county competition in 2007. All pupils in Year 8 take part in the UK Junior Maths Challenge, and Year 11 take part in the Intermediate Challenge. Last year, nine members of Year 11 proceeded to the European Challenge, and another was one of only forty students invited to University Summer School. Sixth Formers take part in the Senior Challenge, and this year a student proceeded through all the subsequent rounds to finish fifth in the UK.

Students have 6 hours of Maths teaching per fortnight in each year.

Years 7-9
They are taught as form groups in Year 7. Top Sets are created from Year 8. Around 95% of pupils usually attain SATs Level 7 or above by the end of Year 9.

Years 10-11
In GCSE Mathematics, all students in the last two years have achieved A*-C and 72% achieved grades A*-A in 2009. We have been offering GCSE Statistics as an option for four years and so far the vast majority of students have achieved A*-A grades.

Years 12-13
Mathematics is now established as the school’s largest AS and A-Level subject, with 160 students following a course in the sixth form. Recent results have been around 70% at grades A-B and 100% A-E. Further Mathematics is fully timetabled and is taught concurrent to Mathematics.

Enrichment/Clubs
We offer lunchtime clubs in Bridge, KS3 Enrichment, National Cipher Challenge and "Jaguar Cars Maths in Motion" Grand Prix racing. The latter is a national competition and we were the 2008 UK KS3 Champions, and in 2009 won two of three international races. Sixth Formers also provide help and support on a one-to-one basis to younger pupils in our lunchtime Maths Clinic. Additionally, staff run holiday revision classes for GCSE and A-Level. (see below for more details)

Maths staff
Staff in Department: Mr G Young (Head of Dept), Mrs A Abu Hayyel, Mrs C Blakeman, Miss L Cacace, Miss F Connell, Mrs J Girdlestone, Mr J Harrison, Mrs R Jennings, Mr D Madin and Mr L Morris. Additionally, Mrs A Sorel and Mr C Robson each teach a KS3 class.

For further information please contact the Head of Department via the School Office:
T: 01892 529551
E: thegrammarschool@twgsboys.kent.sch.uk

Extra-Curricular Activities Provided by the Mathematics Department

"Maths in Motion" Grand Prix Racing

"Maths in Motion" is a computer software package that enables pupils to simulate the setting-up of Formula One racing cars, conduct practice laps and make improvements to obtain a place on the starting grid. They plan their race, including pit-stop strategies to take into account fuel consumption, tyre wear and the weather forecast.

National and International Races

Jaguar Cars are amongst the sponsors of three annual national races, and the major event of the year, the National Championship Final, held at the National Heritage Motor Museum. In our first year of participation, boys from TWGSB won the 2007 Christmas Grand Prix, came first and third in the 2008 “Rule 4” Grand Prix, came fourth in the 2008 Summer Grand Prix and were the 2008 UK KS3 Champions. During 2008-2009, we won two of three international races against schools from UK, The Netherlands, Spain, Hungary and New Zealand, and came second in the Summer Grand Prix.

School Races

Entry to these national races is limited to one or two per school, so using the same software, we run our own TWGSB Grand Prix Season of eighteen races. It is currently open to Years 7 to 11. Pupils collect track information on a Monday, and work in their own time to set-up and qualify their car, with the race itself taking place on Friday lunchtimes, with 30-50 cars usually being entered. We have a Drivers Championship and Constructors (Team) Championship.

Year 8 Inter-House Competition

Year 8 have the opportunity to participate via their own competition in Term 6.

UK Mathematics Trust Challenges

Sponsored by The Actuarial Profession, The UKMT Challenges attract hundreds of thousands of entries each year and are the most highly-regarded and widely-entered of all the school Maths Competitions. Many TWGSB pupils achieve Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards for their performance. A particularly strong performance provides entry to other Challenges and Competitions.

Individual Challenges and Subsequent Rounds

All pupils in Year 8, higher sets in Year 11, and AS/A Level students are entered for the Junior, Intermediate and Senior Challenges respectively.

In 2008, a Year 13 student came fifth in the Final Round of the British Maths Olympiad - a team of four was selected to represent the UK at the World Championship in Spain. Also in 2008, nine Year 11 pupils progressed to the European Kangaroo Competition, and another pupil was one of forty in the UK invited to attend University Summer School.

Support and guidance for the UKMT Challenge is provided by class teachers, with Mr Young supporting qualifiers for subsequent rounds.

Team Challenges

Each year, TWGSB enters a team of four pupils in the UKMT Junior Challenge. Our 2008/09 Team achieved our highest position of sixth in the regional heat. Our UKMT Senior Team also came sixth in their event held at Queen Mary's University of London.

Support for the Junior Team is provided on Wednesday lunchtimes by Mrs Abu Hayyeh, with assistance from other staff. Mr Morris manages and supports the Senior Team.

Year 7 Inter-House Competition

Class teachers work with their class through a range of practice materials similar to those used by UKMT, to identify their House Team. These pupils take part in a whole day of competition in Term 6, organised by Mrs Abu Hayyeh.

National Cipher Challenge

Sponsored by IBM and GCHQ amongst others and run by Southampton University, the Cipher Challenge runs from September to January. It has attracts very able students, who enjoy the competition and the opportunity to use mathematics in novel and interesting ways, and usually we have the largest entry of all Kent schools. Our teams often feature near the top of the Leader Board until the Final Round. Students work in teams to break ciphers of increasing complexity, with points awarded for accuracy and speed. Four weeks is allowed for the Final Round, which perhaps indicates its level of difficulty. It should appeal to able students in Year 11 and all sixth form mathematicians.

Support and guidance is provided at lunchtimes by Mr Morris in M2.

Bridge Club

Bridge is good way to develop thinking skills and is a very sociable game. Bridge Club caters for pupils of all ages and abilities. Most members are new to the game and the aim is to improve over the course of the year. The basic rules are given and the players improve by learning to count the cards and thinking about how to play the hands.

The Club meets with Miss Connell from 12.45 on Thursday lunchtimes in M4 and is open to all.

Maths in Kent

TWGSB regularly and successfully completes "Maths in Kent" Competitions, set by the County Maths Advisor. We usually restrict access to the competitions to a particular class, since only one entry per school is allowed.

Miscellaneous Competitions and Events

The Department participates in, or arranges, a variety of other competitions and events throughout the year. Recently these have included World Number Day, UK Sudoku, our own Sudoku and Pi Birthday.

University Lectures

Opportunities are arranged for students in Years 11 to 13 to attend special lectures for Sixth Formers given by some of the country's top mathematicians and lecturers. Some of these speakers appear quite frequently on television and, on occasions, the events have been filmed.

Maths Clinic

Maths Clinic operates on Tuesday and Thursday lunchtimes. Forty Sixth Form students have volunteered to help younger pupils with their Maths. In some cases, pupils are paired for a six week period with one particular sixth former, whilst for others it can be a drop-in facility.

STEP and AEA Programme

As more of our top universities require students to have additional qualifications in addition to the highest grades at A-level, last year we offered pupils extra classes in the Mathematics STEP and AEA papers. Several pupils from Year 13 attended on a voluntary basis once a week to develop their mathematical skills and to practice the STEP and AEA examination questions. We propose to offer these additional classes to our current Year 13 pupils, beginning in January.

Sixth Form Inter-School Social Evenings

We arrange a Social Evening for sixth form mathematicians at TWGSB and a couple of other local schools. Students take part in mixed teams in a light-hearted competition comprising of puzzles and problems, and have the opportunity to meet and work collaboratively with students from other schools.

KS3 Maths Enrichment Club

This Club is open to pupils of all abilities in KS3. Activities vary from week-to-week but are generally related to off-syllabus activities, puzzles and problem solving. During Terms 3 and 4, there is a shift of focus towards UKMT Junior Team Challenge problems, and our team for this event is likely to be chosen from pupils who have attended the Enrichment Club.

The Enrichment Club is run by Mrs Abu Hayyeh in M5 on Wednesday lunchtimes from 12.30.