Teachers TV: Making Maths Real

In KS1/2 Maths, discover the approach to maths teaching at Weeke Primary in Winchester, where the committed team tackle the subject with energy and enthusiasm.

Headteacher, Maggie Hastie and her staff, have been putting the fun back into maths and making maths ‘real’.

Year 1/2 children start their lesson by singing ‘Alice the Camel’ before tackling number bonds and Year 3/4 children warm up with a maths rap and role play in their own pizza restaurant, calculating the bill. Year 6s go on a treasure hunt to find mathematical clues hidden around the school.

At Weeke Primary headteacher Maggie Hastie and her committed teaching team approach the subject of maths with energy and enthusiasm, something Sir Peter Williams noted when he visited them. Key factors at Weeke have been putting the fun back into maths, and making maths real for the children. Several teachers have become maths specialists and, in turn, mentors to other members of staff. Year 1/2 children start their lesson by singing ‘Alice the Camel’ before tackling number bonds. Year 3/4 children warm up with a maths rap where they act out the mathematical symbols they’ll use later. They also take part in role play in their own pizza restaurant. Here, calculating the bill provides them with some ‘real life’ maths experience. Year 6 children go on a treasure hunt to find mathematical clues hidden around the school, and we drop in on a maths booster group where a group of girls are given extra maths tuition before they join the main lesson.