Homework and tests
How homework, tests and feedback work in maths at Westonbirt, and how you can help at home.
Homework: two a week, one at a time
Maths sets two homeworks a week, four across the two-week timetable. Each homework is due when the next one is set, so pupils only ever have one maths homework at a time, and teachers can check it and adapt the next task while the lesson is still fresh.
Week 1pupils have their feedback form
Last week’s retrieval homework is marked by the pupil or a partner.
Set: feedback action homework. Work on the targets on the feedback form in the exercise book, then write a short comment in the Evidence column.
The feedback action work is checked.
Set: retrieval homework (the “big ticket”): mixed questions on topics learnt before. Handed in with the feedback form.
Week 2the teacher has the form
The retrieval homework and feedback form are handed in. The teacher marks it and writes new feedback and targets.
Set: a task chosen by the teacher, for example a Dr Frost task or revising for a test.
The teacher checks the task has been done.
Set: retrieval homework (“big ticket”), marked by the pupil or a partner next lesson.
Retrieval homework mixes questions from across the scheme of work. Teachers use what comes back to shape the next one, adding questions on anything the class found hard.
How long should it take?
Golden rules
- Never leave a question blank.
- Stuck? Get help before the lesson it is due, not as the teacher arrives to collect it.
- Too busy one week? A note or a request for the weekend is fine; teachers use their discretion.
Download the homework cycle poster (PDF)
Feedback forms and targets
Every pupil has their own feedback form. Teachers fill it in when retrieval homework is marked, after tests, or from what they see in lessons. It shows what the pupil needs to do to improve straight away, with no more than five live targets at a time so feedback stays manageable. Once teacher and pupil agree a target is secure, it is replaced with a new one.
Working on a target
- Read the target on the feedback form.
- Find the topic in the scheme of work and click through to its course support page.
- Watch a video, try the worksheets and check the answers. Try past paper questions on the topic too.
- Show the work in the exercise book and write a comment in the Evidence column.
- Still stuck? Come to a workshop and bring the form.
Maths workshops
Workshops are open to everyone who wants to strengthen their maths. They are drop-in, though every pupil is invited at least once a term and is expected to come when invited. Pupils use their feedback form to work on their targets, helped by a teacher and sixth form mathematicians.
| When | Priority |
|---|---|
| Monday lunch | Years 7 to 10 |
| Tuesday after tea | Years 7 to 10 |
| Wednesday lunch | Years 11 to 13 |
| Thursday after tea | Years 11 to 13 |
The priority only applies if a session gets very busy. Prizes go to the pupils who come most often each half term.
Tests and exams
The purpose of assessment is to show teachers how best to help, and to give pupils a clear picture of where they are and where they need to get to. Tests come at set points in each year’s scheme of work, usually before a grade card or report, and cover several topics rather than just the latest one.
- Years 7 to 10: Section 1 covers everything since the last test. Section 2 is tiered so it suits each set, while about 75% of the paper is common to all sets so results can be compared. The first Year 7 test assumes no KS2 content.
- Year 11: full past-paper-style papers, building to the Edexcel International GCSE Mathematics A (Papers 1 and 2) in May and June, with two rounds of mock exams.
- Sixth form: a baseline test in the first week of September, then chapter tests roughly every four chapters, built from past paper and textbook questions.
After a test
Rather than a whole-class walkthrough, each pupil gets individual feedback. Results go into a question-by-question breakdown by topic. In the feedback lesson pupils use video solutions to go straight to the questions that matter to them, make notes on anything they lost marks on, then try an equivalent question on a “shadow paper” and check it against its mark scheme. Targets are updated where there is still a clear gap.
See the maths calendar for test weeks, mock exams and parents’ evenings.
In lessons
- Do Now: every lesson starts with retrieval questions that keep earlier topics ticking over and prepare for the lesson.
- Checking understanding: mini whiteboards, paired talk and questions to everyone, not just volunteers.
- I do, we do, you do: new skills are modelled step by step, including how to set out exam-style answers.
What to bring
A charged device, calculator, pencils, pens and construction equipment. In Years 7 to 11 pupils have a blue book for notes and worked examples and an orange book for practice. We recommend the Casio fx-85GT CW calculator for Years 7 to 11 and the fx-CG100 for the sixth form. Calculators support the working: answers should still show the calculations in full.
Useful websites
- ★ Westonbirt Maths: every lesson this year, to work through at your own pace.
- Westie’s Workshop course support: videos, worksheets and past paper questions for every topic.
- Dr Frost Maths: key skills practice and online homework (log in with your school Microsoft account).
- Corbett Maths 5-a-day: daily retrieval practice.