Maths at THS
Overview:
At Thomson House School, we follow a Mastery approach to teaching mathematics, alongside our wonderful teachers’ judgements to create a bespoke curriculum, curated to suit each year group perfectly. We pride ourselves on giving every child the opportunity to enjoy a rich and varied learning experience, which enables them to develop confidence and resilience in their approach to maths. To ensure a curriculum that is accessible to all, we include the use of concrete resources alongside a variety of representations to support children in visualising the maths and deepening their learning. Our goal is for children to develop solid and lasting foundations of mathematical concepts, which can be built on each year and support them across a range of contexts.
In addition to our day-to-day learning, we are able to continue our exploration and application of mathematics out of the classroom through our maths challenge clubs run by Amanda Letch, our Executive Head Teacher; and Nicolas Tiffou, one of the original founders of Thomson House School. These weekly clubs, attended by Years 3 - 6, encourage our children to develop their mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency in using mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems. Moreover, we aim to promote a love of maths through wider opportunities in the form of challenges, competitions and cross-curricular links, all of which our children love and feel encouraged by.
Our Maths Achievements:
Junior Maths Challenge:
April 2023
Some of our most able mathematicians in Upper School were invited to take part in the Junior Maths Challenge – in which 150,000 pupils in the UK take part (aimed at Y8 maths). The children across years 5 and 6 did immensely well to tackle such challenging problems! We are awaiting results and will share with you soon…
Olympiad:
Date TBC
After receiving the results of the Junior Maths Challenge, we will be able to share with you more exciting news on who has made it to this next round…so stay tuned!
Grey Kangaroo:
March 2023
Caspar, Jasper and Freddie in Year 6 took part in the astonishingly difficult second round of the Intermediate Maths Challenge. The boys did exceptionally well to spend lots of their own time preparing, by carrying out practise papers, as well as making the most of Mr Tiffou’s sessions to help improve their approaches to this high level of problem-solving. No matter what, we are immeasurably proud of these mathematicians and their staggering abilities! We are awaiting the results, so an update is incoming…
Intermediate Maths Challenge:
March 2023
In Early Spring, the time comes for the stimulating Intermediate Maths Challenge, which our Year 6 Maths Club pupils enter. This UK wide competition is aimed at Year 11 and below, which shows just how advanced and impressive our mathematicians are! We are delighted to be able to share the successes of our incredible participants with you – huge congratulations to Sam A, Yagmur V, Amelie S, Harry D, Prisha K who should feel immensely proud of their participation. Huge commendations also to Caspar G, Jasper T (who was awarded a silver medal), and to Freddie C (who was awarded a gold medal)! These boys will now enter the next round called the Grey Kangaroo Competition, aimed at Y10 and Y11 age group - simply outstanding. Thank you, too, to Mr Nicolas Tiffou for working with these children weekly to prepare them – we are incredibly grateful for the passion and time that you give to THS!
Cayley Maths Challenge:
June 2022
Last year’s Y5 mathematicians – Freddie C, Harry D, Prisha K and Casper G participated in the Cayley Maths Challenge at Kings College School, Wimbledon, with 25 other schools (mostly from the independent sector). The children did brilliantly, coming top in round 1 with a perfect score and finishing 20 minutes early before the allotted time. In round 2, there was fierce competition, and we eventually came second, losing the top place by 1 mark. But what an achievement! Maths at THS is going from strength to strength – huge thanks to Mr Tiffou, Mrs Sanders and especially to the four young people whose brains were severely tested – so proud of you all. We cannot wait to share this year’s results with you soon! You can find out more and see some photos of the Cayley in action at https://www.kcs.org.uk/junior-school/news/cayley-challenge
You can find out more about our challenging maths achievements at: https://www.ukmt.org.uk/