ABOUT THIS CONFERENCE

This focus of this student revision conference, refreshed for 2023, is to support students in securing Grades 4 and 5 in their GCSE Mathematics examination. Students will develop the skills required for problem solving approaches; enabling them to access problems; have the skills to meet the challenges of answering Grade 4 and 5 questions and be able to present their solutions to examiners clearly.

KEY FOCUS AREAS

• A fast-paced day to keep students engaged and motivated: take away the most crucial strategies for exam success
• Develop high quality examination technique, understanding and confidence
• Gain first-hand guidance and advice from a subject expert, unpicking and addressing how to ensure students achieve those crucial 4/5 grades
• Have the opportunity to ask questions directly to the subject expert
• Take away conference notes with revision guidance that really works
• Can be tailored as an in-school conference
• Student workbook to allow application of skills, knowledge and understanding throughout the sessions and beyond

PROGRAMME

Key overview for securing Grades 4 and 5

• Explore high quality revision tactics with our examiner and look at what worked in previous years’ exam answers
• Where did students struggle in 2022
• Obtain expert guidance on how to be awarded maximum marks for working out and answers
• Gain knowledge of how to develop answers to pick up crucial marks
• STUDENT ACTIVITY: using examples of student answers, this is a hands-on practical marking activity with the students becoming the examiner

Pythagoras’ Theorem and Trigonometry

• Get to grips with these challenging key topics
• Explore how to spot hidden applications and break them down
• Top Tips to secure full marks quickly
• Avoid the pitfalls from previous students

Area and Volume

• Discover what the examiners are looking for and what not to do
• Examine how to accurately carry out procedures that need multi-step solutions
• Review and remember the important key facts, terminology and formulae
• Practice application of approaches to the more complex area, surface area and volume problems – including in contexts and reverse problems

Averages – Mainly The Mean

• Ensure fluency and understanding when problem solving with the Mean from frequency tables and grouped frequency tables – not just the basics
• Tackle those tricky Reverse Mean problems with ease
• Unpick the use of algebra within Mean problems and other average problems

Question Box for the presenters – prize for best question

Problem Solving and Reasoning – communicating mathematically

• Excellent examiner guidance on developing reasoning and an algebraic approach to coherent solutions – “Someone has to read your working!”
• Get the hang of those nasty wordy problems with various linked mathematical skills
• Constructing chains of reasoning
• Improve student inference skills and conclusions
• Develop understanding of the use of algebra in solutions and spot when it can be used
• How to present solutions clearly with good mathematical structure for multi-step problems
• STUDENT ACTIVITY: Workbook challenge – strategies to tackle more complex problems using example responses.

Other key areas to ensure securing grades 4/5

• Quick fire hints and tips for more of those crucial areas to secure those crucial grades 4/5
• Sequences, Graphs, Compound Measures, Transformations, Bounds, Angles and more
• Explore Ratio from every angle and ensure you can identify the best approaches to secure full marks efficiently
• STUDENT ACTIVITY: Examples of the common misconceptions and errors that students make – and how to avoid these!

Final Top Tips from and close

• Final Top tips and expert advice
• “Getting ready to achieve your Best Grade” – what students should do after today!