I thought it powerfulness live on helpful to part the slides in addition to materials from this preparation session here, inward instance anyone wants to deliver a similar update at their schoolhouse inward September. It's a expert fourth dimension for maths departments to halt in addition to mean value nearly whether they're on rail amongst Year xi in addition to whether they're going to create anything differently amongst Year 10.
1. Example of GCSE questions
I started past times bespeak the squad to await at examples of examination questions in addition to decide whether or non the questions were from novel GCSE specimen papers. For instance I included a enquiry on moving averages from a Linked Pair newspaper (time serial are on the novel GCSE, exactly non moving averages).
This activeness helped me larn a sense of how familiar the squad were amongst the novel GCSE specification. You tin download the questions here. The answers are inward the slides, which you lot tin download at the terminate of this post.
2. Misconceptions
I in addition to thus talked through x cardinal points which were mainly drawn from the 2 posts I wrote:
- Five things you lot powerfulness non know nearly the novel GCSE content #1
- Five things you lot powerfulness non know nearly the novel GCSE content #2
It's worth noting that whenever I inquire the enquiry 'has this topic gone from GCSE?', the examination boards are careful non to commit to anything. They are allowed to include questions on topics that aren't specifically mentioned inward their specification, as long as the text inward the enquiry provides plenty data for students to travel it out for themselves.
3. New topics
I attempted to listing all the topics that are novel to Higher in addition to Foundation tier (as best I could - at that spot is no definitive list!). The listing of novel Foundation topics is a line of piece of occupation organization - I scrap to sympathise why some of these topics are considered suitable for Foundation tier.
I talked nearly examination construction (three papers, the start of which is earlier one-half term) in addition to grading. No 1 tin predict bird boundaries in addition to I won't endeavor to create so, exactly 2 points did come upward up:
Beware the drop
If you lot travel into students for the Higher tier in addition to they alone create out to larn a handful of marks, they may good larn a U. Bear inward heed that the Higher tier newspaper volition no longer start amongst a charge of 'easy' questions similar it used to, thus some students may good scrap amongst the entire paper. If they barely pick upward whatever marks, they volition autumn off the bottom of the bird boundaries in addition to terminate upward amongst a U when they may receive got picked upward a Grade 3 or iv from the Foundation tier. I've seen speculation that this cut-off indicate on the Higher tier volition live on anywhere betwixt 10% in addition to 20%, exactly this is totally unknown at the moment. The proposition is that 'borderline' students would live on safer on the Foundation tier, exactly delight don't quote me on that!50% H5N1 in addition to A* content
This is a actually of import quote, taken from Edexcel's Guide to Edexcel GCSE Mathematics (9-1):
"Previously, 25% of questions were targeted at A/A*, exactly straightaway 50% of questions inward each newspaper are targeted at the equivalent grades, 7–9".That's quite a ramp upward inward difficultly level!
At my preparation session, a instructor suggested that the bird boundary for a Grade half-dozen is unlikely to live on higher than 50%, because a pupil who gets to a greater extent than than 50% of the marks on the Higher tier examination has clearly accessed some Grade seven - nine material.
I receive got no idea nearly bird boundaries exactly if you're interested inward reading more, receive got a await at Mel's postal service 'here.
At my preparation session I also showed some examples of revision workbooks. Most of my Year 10s bought a workbook to laid upward for their terminate of twelvemonth exams. There are plenty of resources available for students to purchase on Amazon including revision guides, revision cards in addition to sets of do papers. This powerfulness live on a expert purpose of pupil premium coin for Year 11s who can't afford to purchase these resources themselves.
5. Checklist in addition to Scheme of Work
I finished my session past times issuing the squad amongst this topic checklist in addition to bespeak them to tick off what they'd covered inward Year 10 thus they could position which topics they nevertheless had left to embrace inward Year 11.
My schoolhouse is nearly halfway through the list. Given that nosotros alone receive got until early on May, in addition to that our students become off timetable twice during the twelvemonth for mocks, I mean value we're all feeling the fourth dimension pressure! Thankfully our Year 11s volition receive got nine lessons a fortnight side past times side twelvemonth - this volition aid considerably.
I shared my scheme of travel - you tin download it here exactly comport inward heed that most of the links won't travel as they're linked to documents on my school's network.
6. Slides
As far as I know, the content of my preparation session applies as to Edexcel, AQA in addition to OCR. My slides comprise a expose of graphics from Edexcel's excellent Guide to Edexcel GCSE Mathematics (9-1). The slides for this session (which took around 1 hour) are here in addition to you're real welcome to borrow them if you lot experience that your squad needs an update inward September.
