Algebra is the branch of mathematics that helps in the representation of problems or situations in the form of mathematical expressions. It involves variables like x, y, z, and mathematical operations like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to form a meaningful mathematical expression. here are examples for starters-1=a 2=b&3=c- a*c=? a+b*c. if You are a high school student who lives in the suburbs and excels in mathematics, acing two years of algebra and geometry. When you take Advanced Placement calculus as a senior, you find that all those A’s don’t get you anything. You struggle with calculus and give up on mathematics.
- bat if You are a high school senior at an urban high school that doesn’t have much money. You earn A’s in every mathematics course available, but your school doesn’t offer calculus.
Needless to say, there is a third scenario, in which a student excels in mathematics and also in calculus. Taking calculus in high school gives her a head start on her STEM education in college.
The problem is that hundreds of thousands of students believe they will benefit from calculus, and relatively few of them are in that third scenario. The first two scenarios describe far more students, according to a new report released by Just Equations and the National Association for College Admission Counseling.
90% of the school’s first cohort have already received offers to study at Russell Group universities, including a third of students who have received offers from King’s College London itself. Between them the students have over 150 offers, and have caught the interest of 21 of the 26 universities in the Russell Group. Every student at the specialist state-funded school for mathematicians aged 16 – 19 has been selected for their particular enthusiasm and aptitude for Mathematics. 40% of the first cohort of students are girls, and they have outperformed their male colleagues: a full fifth of these girls have received an offer from an Oxbridge college.
Dan Abramson, Headteacher for the innovative school, commented ‘I want to congratulate every one of our students applying to university here at King’s Maths School – they fully deserve the offers they have received. I’m proud that almost a fifth of the group have received offers from Oxbridge, an amazing achievement, considering we only opened our doors two years ago and one which firmly places the school as one of the top State funded schools in the country’
Students at the school take Maths, Further Maths and Physics, and choose between Computer Science and Economics, and last summer 90% achieved A-grades in Maths and Further Maths, a strong indication of their future success in the university application process. Over a third of the students at the flagship school are female, higher than the national average in these subjects, showing how the school is taking steps to improve historically under-represented girls studying STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
Mr Abramson continued: ‘It is true that our students still have a few months to go before they sit their final exams but I have every confidence that they will succeed in achieving the grades necessary to study at the university of their choice. We welcomed a new intake of students last autumn and I know that they will take inspiration from the positive results of their classmates. I look forward to celebrating with our students as they all achieve their dreams this summer.’
King’s has been involved in the development of the curriculum at the School, which combines Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Physics, Computing and Economics A-Levels with the Extended Project Qualification that will enable students to pursue individual research and construction projects.
