Helston Community College

Core Maths

Is this course for me?
Core Maths is a one year qualification which is equivalent to an AS-level. It is aimed at students who wish to continue studying mathematics beyond GCSE level but who do not want to study A-level Mathematics. The course places emphasis on mathematical and statistical problem solving and is designed to support students who are on academic, mixed or vocational programmes of study, to prepare them for higher education, employment and their everyday lives.

Core Maths is aimed at students who are considering careers in a variety of technical and professional roles, and those who wish to develop their use of mathematics and statistics to support the work they will do in a wide range of other subjects including Business, Computing, IT, Biology, Chemistry, Sociology, Psychology and Geography.

What qualifications do I need?
The basic requirement is 5 or more Grade 4's at GCSE including GCSE Mathematics at grade 5 or above.

What does the course involve?
This course involves learning about and using a mathematical modelling cycle, a statistical problem solving cycle and a financial problem solving cycle. Students will work with numerical information, statistics, graphs, geometry and measures to solve problems relating to everyday contexts including finance, costing and risk. Students will develop the skills needed to work on problems with limited guidance given about suitable methods to use or how to solve the problem; the ability to work independently, select relevant information and apply existing knowledge is essential. Students will also develop the ability to interpret, evaluate and communicate their solutions to others.

The use of technology -in particular, spreadsheets -is an integral part of the course. As a result of digital technology the scale of data collection has increased significantly in the workplace and in most areas of study. This qualification enables students to understand and process large sets of data by introducing a set of more sophisticated statistical techniques for solving problems, set in the context of the statistical problem solving cycle. Students follow this cycle, and in doing so, learn a powerful approach for solving a wide variety of problems.

How will my work be assessed?
Students studying Core Maths will take two examinations:

1. Introduction to Quantitative Reasoning (50%)

2. Statistical Problem Solving (50%)

Each examination consists of a 2 hour written paper. Both papers contain questions based on pre-release material. In Introduction to Quantitative Reasoning the pre-release material is published 3 months before the examination to enable students to become familiar with the contexts prior to the examination. In Statistical Problem Solving the pre-release material is a much larger data set which is published at the start of the year and which is used extensively throughout the year. 50% of the Statistical Problem Solving examination is based on the pre-release data.

What can I do afterwards?
This qualification gives students the mathematical skills to tackle problems in a variety of situations. It enables them to strengthen the mathematical knowledge and skills which they have learnt at GCSE so that they can apply them to the problems which they will encounter in further study, life and employment. It is also intended for students who need to continue with some mathematics because they intend at some stage to enter a teacher training or health professional training course.