Pearson Edexcel GCSEs Mathematics (9–1) from 2015 The Phoenix Collegiate
The Phoenix Collegiate
Iain Eglinton, Assistant Headteacher in Mathematics, talks through some reasons as to why the school moved to Pearson Edexcel for GCSE Maths for September 2021.
| Name | The Phoenix Collegiate | ||
| Type | Secondary School | ||
| Location | Sandwell, West Bromwich | ||
| Cohort | GCSE Maths cohort size: 320 | Cohort EAL: 43.04% | Cohort SEN: 21.84% |
Background
The Phoenix Collegiate is the largest school in the West Midlands and has 350 students per year group for years 7–11. Approximately 50% of students are entitled to Pupil Premium and the school has a large EAL community.
Phoenix was created from the merger of Menzies and Manor High Schools. They both had a high disadvantaged measure and were historically in the bottom 10% nationally, as well as being amongst the lowest attaining schools in the local authority.
This transition to one of the highest achieving schools in the LA has been gradual.
Pearson Edexcel GCSE Maths papers are now the most accessible
We have switched exam board to Pearson Edexcel for GCSE Mathematics for September 2021 as we are doing Pearson Edexcel for A Level Mathematics and wanted greater continuity between courses.
The resources available for Pearson Edexcel GCSE Maths have become more plentiful and of a higher quality than for other exam boards (in our opinion).
The student voice forum in school have now changed their opinion (I review this every year) and now believe that the Pearson Edexcel GCSE Maths assessments are the most accessible.
Exam questions that are clear to understand and give the students a fair chance to show what they can do
The key things that learners benefit from when doing Pearson Edexcel GCSE Maths are that exam questions are clear to understand, they don’t have unnecessary language, they give students a fair chance to show what they can do and the consistency of questions from year to year. Students have followed a course that is being assessed fairly and gives the teachers the best chance to prepare them properly for an exam that gives them the chance to succeed.
The accessibility of the assessments for Foundation and Higher tier are both fair in relation to other exam boards and the requirement of the specification. The less unnecessary language the better, particularly for the large number of EAL students that we have as a school, many of whom are excellent mathematicians but struggle to access the content when it's too verbose.
The resources available for the GCSE have become more plentiful and of a higher quality than for other exam boards
Some resources, in particular, that are excellent are the cross over question papers, shadow papers, the new mock papers each year, the division of resources by topic (themed papers) and the Maths Emporium!