Maths
The maths department is made up of seven well qualified teachers who come from a variety of backgrounds. At university, some studied pure maths, others studied maths and statistics or maths and physics, and one studied electronic engineering, working for a period of time in industry. They also have a number of different co-curricular interests including football (both playing and managing), tennis, the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and website development. Although there is a wide age range within the department, all teachers are well established in their posts, and all have taught Advanced Higher.
The department is very well resourced and Learning and Teaching is enhanced by the use of interactive whiteboards for the delivery of lessons. First and second year pupils are introduced to the benefits of using spreadsheets and are taken to the ICT suite for practical workshops using Microsoft Excel.
Maths classes are set according to ability, and each year group will follow a similar course structure. Pupils, in the various sets, will be given coursework reflecting their ability and potential future level of study. There is a strong emphasis on problem solving and investigations, and pupils are encouraged to reach their full potential, think for themselves and develop the skills required for life outside of school. Pupils, of all ages, are encouraged to take part in national maths competitions including Maths Challenge, UK Maths Challenge and Mathematics San Frontier. Pupils enjoy this opportunity to show their ability in problem solving and a large number gain gold, silver and bronze certificates.
Although our fourth year pupils study for the Standard Grade qualification, almost all of them will have covered a reasonable amount of the Higher course by the end of fourth year. All of the SQA Advanced Highers in maths are offered to our Form 6 pupils. Specialist teachers, who have many years of SQA presentation experience, teach courses in pure maths, statistics and mechanics.
For further information, please see the curriculum pages.