This is an excellent opportunity to join one of Oxfordshire’s largest and most successful schools. Effective administrative systems support the two sites.  Students are well-behaved and motivated, and there is a strong sense of community in Thame, with a committed parent support base.

We are exceptionally strong in terms of pastoral support for all students and have the highest expectations for individual achievement whatever the starting points. Outside the classroom there are wonderful extra-curricular activities for all.  Students leave the school successful and well-rounded individuals. There is a ‘buzz’ about learning in the school and our students are fortunate to be supported in their learning by dedicated teachers and support staff. Staff training and professional development are always a developmental priority and many of our staff move on to promotions in other schools.

The School

The school is the only school serving the market town of Thame and surrounding villages. It is a popular school and always oversubscribed. It is a split site school – Years 7-9 on our Lower School site and Years 10 -13 on our Upper School site. There are around 540 students in our Sixth Form and we attract many students from other schools, post-16. Teamwork is a key feature of school life and so is partnership with our feeder primary schools. There is a strong drive to establish powerful curriculum links cross phase with teachers collaborating on a range of projects.

The Mathematics Faculty

Mathematics is a very strong and popular subject at Lord Williams’s School.  This is due to the skill and commitment of a team of 18 teachers.  Expectations both of students and of team members are high. There is an emphasis on team work and mutual support which has enabled the faculty to meet the continuing challenge of new initiatives with confidence.  Although staff are based on one of the two sites, most have a timetable which includes work across the whole school.

The Mathematics Faculty has a high standard of accommodation with its own suite of rooms on each site also with access to ICT rooms.  The Upper School site has a new Maths Block, opened in May 2017 by Professor Marcus du Sautoy with 8 classrooms and 4 work rooms. At Lower School we have 6 classrooms. Mathematics classrooms on both sites use interactive whiteboards. The Mathematics team are keen to use technology in their lessons to enhance teaching and learning opportunities.  Favourite resources used by staff include MathsPad, MyMaths, Mathsbox, Underground Mathematics, Integral, Autograph, GeoGebra and Desmos.

Examination preparation has been a key focus; we have produced a large quantity of revision materials and our GCSE results are consistently well above national averages with 81%, 78% and 79% achieving grades 4-9 in summer 2023, 2024 and 2025 respectively.

The mathematics faculty is very enjoyable to work in, it has a very dedicated and enthusiastic team of teachers. Lunchtime homework support clubs are in place across all key stages as well as an exciting stem club and popular board games clubs. Strong mathematicians are also given the extra-curricular opportunity to study the Level 2 Further Mathematics qualification during year 10 and 11. The most talented 15% of our students are entered for the various UKMT Annual Mathematical Challenges with a few each year participating in the Olympiads.

For the lower attainers the Mathematics team work closely with the Learning Support team to provide additional assistance in the classroom. We run a bespoke intervention for Year 7 students identified as below expected standard in their Year 6 SATS. We also have Entry Level Functional Skills qualifications at KS4.

High on our list of priorities is to instil a love of Mathematics.  All members of the faculty are encouraged to try new approaches to topics and develop new materials. Ideas are rapidly shared amongst the teaching team particularly in faculty meetings where Hot Ideas is the first and most exciting item on the agenda of all meetings.

The faculty structure is as follows:

Head of Faculty

Second in Faculty and Team Leader of a Key Stage

Team Leader of a Key Stage

Team Leader of a Key Stage

The Teaching Programme

In recent years Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 have been developed to provide a course which is balanced in terms of content and styles of delivery.  In Year 7, students are set as soon as possible using Year 6 SATs results.

The Mathematics Faculty are passionate about exposing students to the beauty and power of mathematics and developing their sense of enjoyment and curiosity. The programme of study we have developed builds on prior knowledge and developing fluency and retention through varied and frequent practice. Once there is a secure grounding in the topic content, we endeavour to develop mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems.

Key Stage 4

Year 11 students follow the Edexcel Linear GCSE course. We aim for 100% entry at GCSE for Year 11 students. For students in the Sixth Form who have not achieved a grade 4, we run a GCSE retake course. We set by ability at GCSE, the higher attaining class sizes are 32 students, whereas the foundation and support groups vary between 10 and 16 students per class.

Key Stage 5

In Year 12 and 13, we offer A-level courses in Mathematics (Edexcel) and Further Mathematics (Edexcel). Currently over 100 students study A Level Mathematics and 15 students are doing Further Mathematics. Core Maths is also a popular choice at KS5, with all students achieving grade C or above and half achieving A grades in this course last year. At all levels we aim to challenge students from the weakest to the strongest mathematicians. Class sizes vary, but are usually approximately 16 per class for A-level mathematics and core mathematics. A-level further mathematics students are taught as separate class; usually around 10 students per class.

Safeguarding

Lord Williams’s School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

All successful candidates will be subject to enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service checks along with other relevant employment checks.

Any offer of employment is subject to satisfactory medical, reference and DBS clearance and also to The Asylum and Immigration Act ID checks.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (2013, 2020 and 2023). This means that certain convictions and cautions are considered ‘protected’ and do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Guidance about whether a conviction or caution should be disclosed can be found on the Ministry of Justice website: 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-guidance-on-the-rehabilitation-of-offenders-act-1974