Recently, we’ve been making huge advances with our KS5 A Level resources and we have been getting a lot of questions about them and our plans. So, we thought a mini interview with Charlotte, our Maths Content Team Leader Manager and A Level Beyond Manager would be a brilliant idea. She’ll tell us about the plans for A Level resources throughout the coming months, and beyond. Oh, and I’ll be doing the asking – my name’s Alex and I’m a digital copywriter, hello!
Alex: What are you going to be working on first with A Level resources?
Charlotte: We’ve already made a good start on writing a number of A Level Maths resources, as well as some preparation for A Level Maths booklets. With the latter, we thought this particularly important this year, when students planning to take A Level qualifications would not get the chance to take a GCSE in those subjects and may have lost momentum since March.
The booklets offer practice in the skills which are absolutely vital foundation for A Level. There’s also an assessment on all of these skills, which can be used to direct further study and for reinforcement.
Alex: That sounds like it offers a great baseline for post 16 students. What about after that?
For A Level Maths teaching, we have a good few things on site already and many more in the pipeline. We’re working mainly on resource packs for topics. These are built with versatility in mind, so could form a lesson or would work just as well for independent study or revision. Here’s one on the Discriminant, and it’s free:
We now have our first activity-based resources for reinforcing skills uploaded, such as puzzles and colour by numbers:
Alex: Free resources are always a good starting point! I’ve noticed some other A level resources on the site. Would you tell us a bit more about those?
I’m glad you asked! Another thing we’ve started to work on is resources for students applying to university – guides to filling in personal statements and entry requirements for different courses will be our starting points, but we have lots of other ideas we’d like to explore as well. Here are two of the resources already on site:
Alex: Colour by Numbers have been really popular at Key Stages 3 and 4. How will you ensure that they remain relevant for KS5 students?
Charlotte: We’ve had a lot of discussion about this and we’ve consulted with other A Level teachers. No one wants an activity which tests the same skill 50 times when students have grasped it after the 10th time, so we’re making colour by numbers with fewer spaces and ensuring that we offer enough scope in the questions, as well as including building levels of challenge.
Alex: What’s next for Beyond: Advanced?
Charlotte: I’ve mentioned 3 projects there – A Level Maths, A Level English and Career Development resources. We’ve got loads of exciting ideas for all of those, including Murder Mystery activities on the Large Data Set, and guides to work experience, NVQs and apprenticeships. We love hearing from A Level teachers, so if you have more ideas, please get in touch and let us know.
Alex: The best way to get in touch with us is via our Twitter or Facebook.
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