Course Notes for GCSE Mathematics at Intermediate Level

About the Book

This book provides straightforward and concise notes on all the topics required for successful study of GCSE Mathematics at Intermediate Level. Without detracting from the mathematical content, the author has attempted to explain the subject matter in a clear and readable way, providing annotated worked examples of answers to GCSE-level questions. The contents of the book lie somewhere between those of a full course text book and a revision guide. Unlike a course text this book does not have Exercises to be worked through, although, as stated above, it does have full descriptions and explanations of topics, together with worked examples. On the other hand, it does offer more than a typical revision guide, in as much as the written theory, explanations and worked examples tend to be more comprehensive and easier to understand. His tutoring experience has led the author to believe that the most effective way of teaching mathematics at the Secondary level is to adopt a generally 'traditional' approach. Over-reliance on calculators, together with attempts in some books to make maths 'cool' by the addition of comical graphics or cartoon characters, do tend (in his opinion) to be counterproductive. The 'traditional' approach has therefore been used in the writing of this book. The author makes no apology for emphasizing the importance of knowing, for example, the Multiplication Tables or how to 'cancel-down' a fraction. After all, in most syllabuses one of the GCSE written examinations must be attempted without the aid of a calculator!

Course Notes for GCSE Mathematics at Intermediate Level could be used to:

- complement class work throughout the maths course

- serve as a revision guide as the exams approach (possibly in conjunction with work on past exam papers).

About the Author

Brian Stratton was educated at Mundella Grammar School, Nottingham and Edinburgh University; graduating from the latter with an Honours degree and a PhD in Biological Science. He has subsequently studied with the Open University, and achieved an Honours degree in Mathematics. In employment, there was initially a spell in academic publishing, during which time Brian took on a substantial amount of freelance work in addition to his regular job. He contributed to a number of dictionaries and encyclopedias published in the UK in the 1980's. For the past 20 years Brian has worked successfully as a Private Tutor in school-level mathematics and science, with the demand being predominantly for maths. He has a 'traditional' approach to the teaching of mathematics, and passionately believes that only with a firm grounding in the 'basics' can confident understanding of GCSE (and higher)-level maths be achieved.