Teacher of Mathematics

We wish to appoint from September 2019 a well-qualified, enthusiastic and committed Teacher of Mathematics.  The post is permanent and either full-time or part-time considered.  It is an excellent opportunity for either an experienced or newly qualified teacher willing to join and contribute to a popular and successful Mathematics Faculty.  

This is an excellent opportunity to join one of Oxfordshire’s largest and most successful schools judged ‘Outstanding’ in the latest Ofsted report.  The school is situated in a pleasant campus over two sites. Students are well-behaved and motivated and there is a strong sense of community in Thame, with a committed parent support base. 

We are exceptionally strong in terms of pastoral support for all students and have the highest expectations for individual achievement whatever the starting points. Outside the classroom there are wonderful extra-curricular activities for all. Students leave the school successful and well-rounded individuals. There is a ‘buzz’ about learning in the school and our students are fortunate to be supported in their learning by dedicated teachers and support staff. Staff training and professional development are always a developmental priority and many of our staff move on to promotions in other schools.

The School

Lord Williams’s is the only school serving the market town of Thame and surrounding villages. It is a popular school and always oversubscribed. It is a split site school with Years 7-9 on our Lower School site and Years 10 -13 on our Upper School site. There are around 500 students in our Sixth Form and we attract many students from other schools post-16. Teamwork is a key feature of school life and so is partnership with our feeder primary schools. There is a strong drive to establish powerful curriculum links cross phase with teachers collaborating on a range of projects. 

The Mathematics Faculty

Mathematics is a very strong and popular subject at Lord Williams’s School.  This is due to the skill and commitment of a team of 18 teachers.  Expectations both of students and of team members are high. There is an emphasis on team work and mutual support which has enabled the faculty to meet the continuing challenge of new initiatives with confidence.  Although staff are based on one of the two sites, most have a timetable which includes work across the whole school.

The Mathematics Faculty has a high standard of accommodation with its own suite of rooms on each site also with access to ICT rooms.  The Upper School site has a brand new Maths Block, opened in May 2017 by Professor Marcus du Sautoy with 8 classrooms and 4 work rooms. There has been significant investment in resources with new text books in Key Stages 4 and 5.  All Lower School classrooms have data projectors and internet access; the Upper School rooms use interactive whiteboards.  We are fortunate to have Maths Alive software as well as other titles such as Autograph and GSP.  We have many other resources, for example the whole of the 10 Ticks  resource bank as well as access to internet based sites such as Maths Net and MyMaths, MathsPad, PinPoint, Integral, etc.

Examination preparation has been a key focus; we have produced a large quantity of revision materials and we have been involved in the King’s College Assessment for Learning project since the outset. We have just completed our involvement with the King’s College “Best Practice in Setting” research.  The GCSE Examination results for 2018 were well above national and local averages with 81% achieving grades 4 – 9. 

The Teaching Programme

In recent years Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 have been developed to provide a course which is balanced in terms of content and styles of delivery.  In Year 7, students are set as soon as possible using Year 6 SATs results.

Three part lessons involving oral and mental starters are an important feature of lesson planning in the Lower School where we make good use of mini-whiteboards, target boards and data projectors.  Developing problem-solving skills has been a focus this academic year.

In Key Stage 4, Year 11 students currently follow the Edexcel Linear GCSE course. We aim for 100% entry at GCSE for Year 11 students, and the percentage achieving A* - C was 81% in 2018, 81% in 2017, and 88% in 2016.  A one-year retake course is also available for Y12 students wanting to improve their GCSE grade.                                                                                        

In Year 12 and 13, we offer A-level courses in Mathematics (Edexcel) and Further Mathematics (AQA). Currently approximately 120 students study A Level Mathematics and 23 students are doing Further Mathematics.   

At all levels we aim to challenge students from the weakest to the strongest mathematicians.  The most talented 15% are entered for the various UKMT Annual Mathematical Challenges with a few each year participating in the Olympiads.  For the lower attainers the Mathematics team work   closely with the Learning Support team to provide additional assistance in the classroom. We run a bespoke intervention for Year 7 and Year 8 students who have yet to achieve the equivalent of a pass in Year 6 SATs.

High on our list of priorities is to instil a love of Mathematics.  All members of the faculty are encouraged to try new approaches to topics and develop new materials. Ideas are rapidly shared amongst the teaching team particularly in faculty meetings where Hot Ideas is the first and most exciting item on the agenda of all meetings.