Maths Department News
As we approach the end of the Autumn term, we are delighted to share the fantastic progress our Year 7 students have made in Maths since joining us in September. Transitioning to secondary school is a big step and the girls have shown enthusiasm, resilience and a real willingness to challenge themselves.
Below is an overview of what they have been learning this term, along with the new skills introduced at secondary level.
🔢 Unit 1: Number Calculations
Based on Unit Plan: Number Calculations
Students strengthened their understanding of place value, rounding, decimals and written calculation methods.
New Learning at KS3
- Working confidently with negative numbers
- Using BIDMAS (order of operations)
- Rounding to decimal places and significant figures
- Long multiplication and division with larger numbers
- Calculating with decimals
- Using calculators for multi-step calculations
These skills are new to many students and essential for the algebra topics they will meet later this year.
🔶 Unit 2: Factors, Multiples and Primes
Based on Unit Plan: Factors, Multiples, Primes
Students explored the structure of numbers through factors, multiples, primes and square numbers.
New Learning at KS3
- Breaking numbers down using prime factorisation
- Finding HCF and LCM using prime factors
- Understanding infinite sets of numbers
- Cube numbers and cube roots
- Applying HCF and LCM in real-life problem-solving contexts
This unit encourages logical thinking and helps prepare students for future problem-solving work.
📏 Unit 3: Metric Units, Perimeter, Area & Volume
Based on Unit Plan: Perimeter, Area & Volume
Students have developed confidence with measurement, accuracy and 2D/3D geometry.
New Learning at KS3
- Using formulas to calculate the area of triangles
- Finding the area of parallelograms and trapeziums
- Calculating surface area
- Calculating the volume of cuboids
These topics extend primary understanding and build the foundations for more advanced geometry in Year 8.
💻 Sparx Maths – Weekly Homework
All Year 7 students now complete weekly homework through Sparx Maths, our personalised online homework system.
Each week includes:
- Compulsory tasks tailored to the student
- XP Boost tasks for fluency
- Optional Independent Learning for challenge
Students must show clear workings in their Sparx exercise books.
🌟 A Strong Start!
We are incredibly proud of how well our Year 7 students have adapted to the challenges of secondary maths. Their hard work and determination are already paying off, and we look forward to continuing this momentum into the spring term.
Mrs Bennett
Maths Department
