The teachers in the mathematics department are always
looking for ways to give pupils scholarly opportunities beyond the core
curriculum topics. Lessons often develop mathematical ideas well beyond the syllabus
but pupils require time to research ideas, then spend time reflecting on what
they have read before practising questions and developing a deeper
understanding for themselves. They then need the opportunity to discuss ideas
with others so their understanding can be scrutinised.
With this in mind, following the summer exams, the top
two 5th form (Year 10) sets embarked on a two week investigation into a
non-syllabus topic such as fractals, modular arithmetic and infinite series. At
the end, each pupil presented their findings. The class asked some searching
questions about anything that wasn’t clear.
