I gave my Y12 students a test today in #ALevelMaths . They complained afterwards that they didn’t know what a rhombus is. I don’t teach GCSE: would you not expect students to know what a rhombus is at GCSE?

Don’t you hate it when a student asks for help with part (iv) of a STEP question?

I recommend this movie. Thrilling and funny and entertaining. And incredible soundtrack.

Is it just me or was #OnlyConnect easier tonight?

I am stuck if any kind soul can help. In the Edexcel Core 1 chapter on roots of polynomials Ex4C Q9, you end up with these four equations, which I haven’t been able to solve. Solution bank just ‘spots’ the solution, which isn’t very satisfactory. #ALevelMaths

If you are at all interested in WW2, in what Britain was like in the late 30s and during the war, in debunking some myths and learning some history, I wholeheartedly recommend this book.

Been on the beach four days in the last seven. Seen quite a few women reading books but only one man (and that was Jeffrey Archer so not sure if it counts).

Lots of pleasing mathematical spirals in these plants in a garden in Cornwall.

Just read The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne. Fantastic. About about a gay boy/man growing up in Ireland in the 50s/60s, later living in Amsterdam and New York before returning to Ireland. So passionate, powerful and moving, but also one of the funniest novels I have ever read.

258/300 or 86% for an A* in Edexcel #ALevelMaths is quite steep.

A recommendation for you @missradders.bsky.social : When the Cranes Fly South. Best book I have read this year. www.foyles.co.uk/reviews/when...

Interesting fact on Only Connect, that a day on Venus is longer than a year.

Nice puzzles by Alex Bellos in the Guardian today.

This is very neat. Better than the usual #ALevelMaths proof don’t you think?

Just had a meeting by with two senior people from Edexcel about #ALevelMaths Paper 2 this year in response to my concerns. They stand by their decision to replace the original paper (for undisclosed reasons) with one from a future series (rather than a designed substitute). 1/n

There is also the #ALevelMaths version House of Games quiz that someone devised. #EndofY12 docs.google.com/presentation...

Thinking of switching units in Edexcel Further #ALevelMaths from FM1 & FS1 to FM1 & FM2. Does anyone do FM2? The spec looks okay at first glance …

A heavily potato-influenced set of warm-up questions for the Edexcel applied #ALevelMaths paper. drive.google.com/file/d/12AV7...

Why are the papers different? That seems to be the main question people want the answer to. #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

I didn’t think Edexcel Paper 2 #ALevelMaths was too hard: something there for everyone. But is it not strange that over the two pure papers none of these came up: Binomial (Y1 or Y2) Geometric series Implicit functions Parts Trapezium rule Contradiction When I think of the time I spent on these!

I have a problem with this Q from Edexcel Paper 1 #ALevelMaths (I attached the beginning). 1) the result is not true ‘for any number’ but only for integers. 2) you cannot write any squared number as 5n or 5n+1 where n is a natural number. How about 1? That is 5(0) +1 but 0 is not a Nat number.

Watching Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. What a great film. When all the small boats appear, I want to stand up and cheer.

Accidentally deleted my post 🙄 Here is the warm-up grid for Edexcel paper 2 #ALevelMaths Two errors (so far) in the answers: 12a Normal should be y=4/3x-5/12 Q18: second value should be -9+6ln6 Thanks to @kerrydunton.bsky.social for sterling error-checking drive.google.com/file/d/1E736...

Thought it might be useful to have a post of which exam boards people use for Maths, to help find each other when we have queries etc about the specification or where to find resources. Add yourself in a comment below if you're happy for people to know what you do- no obligation to do anything else!

A set of questions for Edexcel #ALevelMaths Paper 2 based on topics likely to come up. drive.google.com/file/d/1I4sM...

Here is my version, for what it’s worth, of topics likely to come up in Paper 2 Edexcel #ALevelMaths drive.google.com/file/d/1GBv1...

Big day today. Good luck to all of us and our #ALevelMaths students. I must say that I do like the pattern recently (is it just Edexcel?) of afternoon exams separated a week apart.

From Nicola at Edexcel #ALevelMaths

My take on yesterday’s Edexcel Core 1 paper is that it was a fair paper, not too easy, not too hard. Quite a lot of topics still to come in Core 2. #AlevelMaths

I answered ‘no’ to the @teachertapp.bsky.social question “Do you have a coach at school?” But I think I may have misunderstood the question.

Pope Leo has a maths degree. Let’s get that on our #ALevelMaths careers posters.

Woohoo! Y13 now on study leave and I am down to ten lessons a fortnight for Y12 to the end of the year. #ALevelMaths

#alevelmaths Order of teaching: thinking of teaching all the pure first. No applied until 2nd year. I think this will support prior low attainers (grade 6), they will have longer to consider/practice/apply the big concepts. Anyone have any experience of this? Repost for a wider audience appreciated

This is inspiring and touching. David Tenant is a national treasure and the young people are amazing. youtube.com/watch?v=nknv...

As Liverpool win the Premier League for the second time, they complete the opening of a quite remarkable sequence, 33 years in the making. #Fibonacci

Someone posted this question a while back under #AlevelMaths If you assume that 3 + √2 is also a root, then it’s easy. But can we assume that? Couldn’t it have one root 3 - √2 and two complex conjugate roots? The question gives the same answer if you don’t make the assumption but longer working.

As @howiehua.bsky.social would say, here I am: a maths teacher at Harvard.

#MathsToday Come and join our excellent maths team! Great pupils, lots of A Level teaching (currently 23 classes in the sixth form, more next year). Collaborative, inspiring department with a real focus on pupils' deep understanding. latymer.ciphr-irecruit.com/templates/CI...

Happy Pi Day. At my daughter’s school they had a special Bake Off competition. #MathsToday #ALevelMaths

I did these in different lessons. Put it up on whiteboard and students race to stick answer on it on a post it with their initials too.

A revision activity for Core Pure Further #ALevelMaths. Any suggestions for any more?

Today a student I didn’t know asked if she could observe one of my #ALevelMaths classes. I was confused at first, looked closer and realised she was a teacher. #GettingOld

St Doms Ofsted report is interesting reading, not least for the emphasis on employability skills in an academic sixth form college. It is truly an outstanding college (with a small o as well as a capital one) and well deserves this glowing report. files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/5027...

Today we did these mixed integrals. Fun! #ALevelMaths #MathsToday

Well, Ofsted been and gone. They came to my lesson whilst I was teaching integration by substitution. Unfortunately they missed the bit where my students tried to do the Berkeley Integration bee: youtu.be/v4_3oLZulk4?... #ALevelMaths

A selection of questions from Orlando Gough’s #AlevelMaths text book, published 1987. Thread