Mathematics
Mr. A. Terblanche – Curriculum Leader
Miss. M. Horne – Deputy Curriculum Leader | Mr. C. Ball – Assistant Curriculum Leader
At Testwood School, the intent of the Mathematics curriculum is to ensure that all students develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence required to succeed both academically and in life beyond the classroom. We are committed to providing an ambitious and inclusive curriculum that enables every learner to experience success and make strong progress, regardless of starting point.
We believe that Mathematics is a fundamental life skill and a critical discipline that underpins learning across the wider curriculum and supports access to a wide range of future pathways and careers. Our curriculum is designed to promote challenge for all, encouraging students to think deeply, work independently, and develop resilience and perseverance when solving problems.
Through carefully sequenced learning, we aim to develop students’ fluency, reasoning, and problem-solving skills, while fostering curiosity, enjoyment, and an appreciation of the structure, logic, and beauty of Mathematics. The curriculum equips students with transferable skills that support learning in other subjects and prepare them for everyday life and future employability.
We also aim to enhance students’ cultural capital by embedding opportunities to explore the historical development of Mathematics, the contributions of mathematicians from a range of cultures, and the origins of key mathematical vocabulary. This enables students to develop a broader understanding of Mathematics as a subject that has evolved over time and continues to shape the world in which we live.
Key Stage 3 Curriculum Intent
At Testwood School, the Key Stage 3 Mathematics curriculum follows a carefully sequenced three-year spiral model that enables students to revisit, consolidate, and extend key mathematical concepts over time. Learning builds systematically on prior knowledge, with topics logically ordered and key skills interleaved to strengthen understanding and support long-term retention. In line with the Key Stage 3 National Curriculum, the curriculum develops fluency, reasoning, and problem-solving, while promoting strong mathematical communication. A focus on oracy ensures students can think, speak, and write mathematically with confidence, accuracy, and purpose.
Key Stage 4 Curriculum Intent
Key Stage 4 here at Testwood School, we follow the Pearson Edexcel Mathematics GCSE Course.
Concepts are broken down into small, structured steps, enabling application toa range of contexts:
- Procedural fluency is developed through regular retrieval homework
- Manipulatives and multiple representations are used to build and scaffold learning
- Feedback is used in lessons to address misconceptions promptly
- Students are encouraged to see errors as a learning opportunity
- Students learn in a non-judgmental environment where taking risks in learning is encouraged
- Students develop their resilience and independence when faced with unfamiliar problems, so that they can transfer these skills across other subjects and beyond Testwood School
- Students are encouraged to reason mathematically, develop structured justifications for solutions using the correct technical vocabulary
