2nd November 2013 November Mathematics GCSE Examination ...

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Oct 4, 2013 ... We have used the November examination for mathematics GCSE in ... past papers both during lesson time and as part of their homework, and when they run into any difficulties ... GCSE Past Papers> EDEXCEL> 1MAO.
2nd November 2013 November Mathematics GCSE Examination Dear Parent/ Carer This letter is to inform you about arrangements for your child's mathematics GCSE examinations this year. You will know already that we have been preparing students in Set 4 and Set 5 for an early examination in November. These examinations will take place at 9am on the Wednesday 6th and Friday 8th of November. We have used the November examination for mathematics GCSE in recent years for selected students who we believe will benefit from having an early opportunity to secure a good grade in this subject. This has been particularly beneficial for students near the grade C boundary as it enables many of them to achieve grade C on a Foundation Tier paper, then tackle harder topics in preparation for a Higher Tier entry in the summer. In previous years students have progressed to achieve B and even A grades through this route. There are other reasons for enabling students to take the examination twice: for some students close to a grade boundary, two opportunities to succeed are better than one and for students with health concerns or other difficulties it can be a useful insurance to have a grade in hand for mathematics. Whatever grade students achieve in November, we still require them to continue their study of mathematics to the end of Year 11. What can I do to help my child prepare for their examinations? To ensure your child is well prepared, confident and performing at their best for this examination, he or she should now be working hard on revision both at school and at home. Your child should now be completing past papers both during lesson time and as part of their homework, and when they run into any difficulties they should be seeking help and advice. Students should now be setting several hours a week aside for the quiet, well focused study of mathematics. The following sources of assistance are available and should be used by all students at some point in their preparation. 1) The School Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) The class teacher is providing paper copies of past examinations but students can also access these past papers and mark schemes at home via the school VLE: vle.wilmslowhigh.com Once students have logged in using their G0 number and their normal school password, they should click on "Maths Yr11" (this will be on the left hand side under the title "My Courses") and then follow the route: All GCSE Past Papers> EDEXCEL> 1MAO. The following shortened link will take students directly to the right page: bit.ly/1aIbGeM Students are following the linear course 1MOA so they can complete any past papers from this folder. If they manage to complete all the papers here (and there are plenty), other GCSE mathematics examinations papers are available on the VLE which will be slightly different to that which students are taking but are still relevant and worthwhile practice material. 2) MyMaths: www.mymaths.co.uk Students log in using these credentials: School login: School password:

wilmslow locus

Once they get onto the site they can do several things:

  

study online lessons on particular topics which they have not yet mastered complete online worksheets which will be instantly marked to give them immediate feedback complete booster packs which are tailored towards achieving particular examination grades

At this point in time the booster packs which are most relevant for students are the "D to C boosters". If students use their individual login (provided by the class teacher) they can save their results and they and their teacher can keep track of what they have done. 3) If students feel they need any extra help outside of lesson time then support is always available every lunch time in the maths area. They simply need to turn up with some work to complete and Mr Edge and Mrs Mackintosh will be available to support them with it. This can be a two minute question to clarify a particular issue or they can bring some sandwiches and spend the entire lunchtime working on problems. Does the recent announcement about November examinations make any difference to my child? You may well be aware from the national news that the Secretary of State for Education has, this week, changed the rules about how students' achievements in GCSE examinations are counted for School Performance Tables. I will explain below how those changes affect your child and how we intend to ensure that students' achievements and the school's overall performance are not affected negatively by the unexpected change of policy. What has changed? In essence the new policy is that students' first sitting of an examination gives the grade to be used in School Performance Tables and any subsequent sittings will not count in schools' statistics. The change of policy only affects the way our results are reported in the School Performance Tables and in no way changes the validity of any student's qualifications: a student who re-takes a GCSE examination should always quote only their best grade in the subject when applying for a job or a college or sixth form place: nothing that has been announced this week changes that. How will the new policy affect the school? The new policy could significantly alter the key statistic that shows the percentage of our students who achieve 5 A*-C grades including English and mathematics GCSEs. This is a statistic that is increasingly used by parents, the media, Ofsted and others in the process of making judgements about schools. It is therefore something we cannot ignore when considering our examination entry policy. We know that parents of current students understand that education at Wilmslow High School is about much more than a "league table" position, and we always seek to give a fuller picture of our school and the many achievements of our students than a single statistic. What does the school plan to do? We have to protect both the best interests of the students who have already been entered for the November examinations and also have due consideration for the academic reputation of the school. We believe we can do this by: 

keeping the students in Set 4 and 5 and selected other students entered and focused on preparation for the November examination



ensuring that as part of that preparation all student will complete a formal mock examination during the week commencing 14th October (the last week before the half term break)



teachers formally marking the mock examination paper and comparing the result to the grade boundaries for that paper



judging, through teacher analysis of the results and knowledge of the students, which students are close enough to the grade C boundary to stand a good chance of a grade C in the November sitting



informing students and their parents during week commencing 28th October whether they will proceed to take their first external mathematics examination in November or in June

We anticipate that approximately half of the students we had originally planned to enter in November will still take their first GCSE mathematics examination on the 6th and 8th of November, while the remaining students will have until June to continue to improve their performance. We aim to ensure that every student who can achieve a grade C in November is still entered, in spite of the possibility of a small negative effect on our "league table statistics". Those who do take the November examination will, as before, be expected to take it again in summer 2014 at the appropriate tier (Higher Tier for those who have already achieved grade C and Foundation Tier for those who have not), while those who are not selected to take the November examination will be entered at Foundation Tier in the summer examination. I hope that this letter helps to put the minds of students and parents at rest and helps to make clear what students need to do to perform at their best. For students the best advice and explanation will come from their mathematics teachers, but students and parents can also speak to Miss Grundy (Key Stage 4 Coordinator) or Mr Edge (Curriculum Team Leader, Mathematics) if they need any further clarification. Yours sincerely

Mr D Haigh

Mr R Edge

Director of Learning and Assessment

Curriculum Team Leader, Mathematics