The Department is staffed by a team of well-qualified and enthusiastic teachers, who aim to teach pupils to enjoy and progress through mathematics from Key Stage 2 to GCSE with the option to continue to 'A' level Mathematics and Further Mathematics.

maths

Throughout the school text books with ICT backup are used, with many books providing a CD-ROM for pupils use at home. Increasingly, lessons are delivered with the aid of ICT. We subscribe to www.mymaths.co.uk so that it can be used as a teaching aid, and it is also available for students to access at home.

We are currently introducing Functional Skills into the curriculum in preparation for its scheduled inclusion into the GCSE course from2010, being examined from 2012.
To ensure all pupils develop their full potential they are taught in ability sets throughout the school and entered at appropriate levels for all examinations. We aim to tailor the course followed and the style and timing of final examinations to suit the abilities and needs of the pupils. The pathways followed are shown below:

KS3 (Compulsory)
In accordance with the National Curriculum and the Numeracy framework pupils are expected to make progress in four attainment targets:
• Attainment 1:  Using and Applying Mathematics
• Attainment 2:  Number and Algebra
• Attainment 3:  Shape Space and Measure
• Attainment 4:  Handling Data

KS4 (Compulsory)
This course, for the majority of students follows the AQA mathematics syllabus 'A'. This includes new topics in Arithmetic, Geometry, Trigonometry and Statistics along with a thorough revision of earlier work. The final assessment is completely by examination, but the style and timing of these will vary according to the ability and needs of the pupils.
The more able students will complete their GCSE course at the end of Year 10 and currently go on to take Additional Mathematics GCSE at the end of Year 11, giving them a solid foundation for the further study of Mathematics and science subjects at A level.
Most students complete their GCSE courses in Year 11 sitting two examination papers. 
Students in set 6 will mostly be entered for a modular course, which means they will sit three separate examination papers in Data Handling, Number and Shape and Algebra during years 10 and 11. A very small number of students will be entered for the Entry Level Certificate which is continually assessed. 

KS5
We follow the Edexcel AS/A specifications for Mathematics and Further Mathematics. Pupils all have to complete Pure Modules (C1-C4) and two options from Decision Maths (D1), Statistics (S1) and Mechanics (M1) to gain an A Level. At least a grade B at GCSE is required to study Mathematics at A level at Blue Coat.

To gain a Further Mathematics A level, in addition to Mathematics, they have to complete more Pure Modules (FP1-FP3) and three options from – Decisions Mathematics (D1), Statistics (S1, S2, S3) and Mechanics (M1, M2). Further Mathematics may be studied to AS level only.