It’s crunch time for 17 bright young mathematicians in Year 9 at Matthew Flinders Anglican College who are sitting exams in the globally-renowned Cambridge IGCSE Maths extension program.
This is the second year students at Flinders will complete the challenging three-part exams.
Flinders is the only school in Queensland to offer the Cambridge Curriculum, which is the world’s most popular international qualification for 14 to 16 year olds. It is also offered in 18 other leading schools across Australia.
Cambridge programs encourage students to master subjects and develop higher-order thinking skills - all transferable skills for study and work in the future. Students learn skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, independent research, collaboration and presenting arguments.
Last year’s debut cohort of 13 students across Years 8 and 9 at Flinders achieved top results in their Cambridge exams.
Principal Stuart Meade said the College proudly provides a quality education with high academic standards.
“At Flinders, we provide many opportunities for students with a passion for academics, and Mathematics in particular,” Stuart said.
“Our students can choose from a range of extension subjects and personalised learning programs which are guided by passionate, caring and engaged staff,” he said.
“The aim is to provide the support young people need to reach their potential and experience a love of learning.
“We joined the Cambridge network of schools in 2019 to gain access to a more rigorous and internationally recognised qualification in the IGCSE.
“As a result, we have been able to extend our keen Maths students by a full calendar year beyond what they might normally experience in the Australian Curriculum by the end of Year 9.”
Flinders Secondary Mathematics teacher Mr David Lanskey has been teaching the students and preparing them for the series of three exams, which cover 11 different mathematical units.
Mr Lanskey said, “It’s fantastic to see such development in the students' ability.
“Their hard work means they are able to retain knowledge over an extended timeframe, and they can feel confident that this will help them with external exams during their senior years,” he said.
Mr Lanskey taught the Cambridge curriculum in the United Kingdom where he previously worked at a school where all students completed the GCSE and most continued on to study A Level Mathematics in their senior years.
As Queensland’s only registered school to offer the Cambridge International Curriculum, Flinders also has a number of private candidates sitting exams in a variety of subjects at Flinders over the coming weeks.
Developed over 30 years ago, the Curriculum sets a high global standard for education, and is recognised by employers worldwide and the world’s best universities, including Cambridge, MIT and Harvard.
