Friday 16 November 2012

Key Stage 2 Worksheets and Transfer Test Practice Papers


Our sister site Orchard Education Solutions has recently launched a series of Key Stage 2 learning materials.

There are worksheets for a wide selection of maths topics, e.g. decimals and fractions, area and perimeter and working with charts.

Also included are worksheets on English topics, such as apostrophes, poetry and comprehension.

You will find all of these worksheets at http://orchardsolutions.com/downloads/ks2-worksheets . Most of them are 99p to download.

There are also sixteen practice papers for the Northern Ireland Transfer Test, available at http://orchardsolutions.com/downloads/transfer-test . These are available as downloads or as hard copies to be sent out to you. You can also buy bundles of four papers in either format.

You will need to register on the site to access any of these materials.

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Maths Inspiration


An excellent series of shows is Maths Inspiration, which challenges and entertains 16-18 year olds with an interest in taking their maths beyond what they learn in the classroom.



The shows are held in large venues with usually three or four inspirational speakers, typically one pure mathematician, one statistician and one engineer. The London show on 28th February features Simon Singh, Hugh Hunt, Colin Wright and Timandra Harkness (MC).

The shows aim to be exciting and to put challenging maths into real-world situations. From attracting 300 pupils and teachers in 2003, the series of events now attracts over 12000 in total.

The content is aimed primarily at sixth formers, but interested GCSE year pupils will also benefit.

There is always a lively Q&A session at the end of each show.

Dates and venues for Spring 2013 are:
London, 28 February
Warrington, 6 March
Newcastle, 8 March
Leeds, 12 March
Bristol, 14 March
Winchester, 20 March
Nottingham, 21 March.

Each show runs from 1pm - 3:45pm, with an extra morning show (9:45am - 12:30pm) in London and Leeds. Read more about the programme and make your reservation on the Maths Inspiration website.

There is also an article about Maths Inspiration in an article from the Education Guardian website and a piece on BBC News.

Friday 2 November 2012

Post-16 Maths for Non A-Level Takers


In a report commissioned by the Government last year on the state of maths teaching in British schools, one recommendation was for maths education to be made compulsory up to the age of 18 for all pupils.

Michael Gove, the Education Secretary for England, appears to have decided to run with this recommendation. The MEI charity (Maths in Education and Industry) has been given the remit of devising a curriculum suitable for such pupils, who would otherwise not have taken maths beyond GCSE. You can read the MEI press release.

Prof Tim Gowers at Cambridge University has been blogging extensively on this subject and his blog has been accepted by MEI as the starting point for the proposed new curriculum. Some of his ideas for problems seem a little advanced for non-A-Level takers.

Your opinions are very welcome, as always. Let us know what you think about the idea for the new qualification and about the ideas being mooted for inclusion.