GCSE Maths Team Cracks the Code for Success!

Following an in-depth, five-year mastery development plan, our team of staff in the Maths team came together to celebrate their projects and achievements, supported by involvement in regional and national projects.

The team completed the last of three professional development (PD) sessions on impactful collaborative learning, led by Curriculum Manager, Sarah Rudge as part of her own PD Lead training with the National Centre for the Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM). Alongside Sarah’s own training, there was plenty to celebrate as staff got together to reflect on their progress.

As a trial teacher on the Mastering Maths national trial, lecturer Thomas Embrey underwent two external lesson study observations, with post lesson discussions with teachers and staff from four other colleges. Thomas attended professional development sessions, cluster meetings, and studied mastery lessons at another three colleges as part of the trial. He shared: “It has been an amazing opportunity to be part of the Mastering Maths project. 

“It has been hugely helpful in improving my questioning, and has given me a lot of ideas that I can use straight off the bat next year. The students have benefitted from seeing more contexts in the mathematics work they are doing, and they are able to discuss their work more freely.”

Lecturer Zuned Hajiali also had reason to celebrate, as he became the second NCETM FE Mastery Specialist at the College, alongside Sarah. Zuned commented: “It’s the best PD programme I have been a part of. Where everyone shares the same interests and we freely discuss problems and solutions. The quality of my lessons has improved, and I feel more confident as a teacher than ever before.”

Last year, teacher Shahnaz Mohebbi set herself an ambitious target of banking a total of 750 hours of Maths support, compared to the total of 500 hours for both English and Maths in 2024. In April, Shahnaz smashed her own target, reaching more than 850 hours of support offered to GCSE Maths students. 

Student dedication has been evident in the run up to exam season, as our annual Easter revision sessions reached a record-breaking 470 hours of revision! Reflecting on all the recent successes, Sarah Rudge shared: “The last five years has involved significant work and our fantastic team truly have risen to the challenge. We are extremely grateful for the support from our Senior Leadership Team and the invaluable input from our external stakeholders and partners, particularly NCETM, EMSHub, the team at the University of Nottingham for both Mastery research trials, MEI, and CfEM. 

“Finally, a huge congratulations to our learners who took part in our revision sessions, and a well done to our Amazon voucher winners for their focus, determination, and dedication to their own progress. Denisa, Blessing, Bailey, Kaif, Rehman, Enes, and Shivani.”