Previous knowledge
As all students must take Mathematics as part of their Diploma portfolio, the general entry requirements for the IB Diploma will be sufficient for a student to access this course. It would be advantageous to have a pass of grade C or above in Mathematics at GCSE.

Mathematical Studies Standard Level (MSSL)
The main focus of all IB Diploma Mathematics courses at JESS is to enable students to become inquiring independent learners. Students that have chosen to take Mathematical Studies have clearly made a decision about their future education and this does not include the need for a high level of Mathematics. Thus, there will be a wide range of abilities within this group of students, from highflying mathematicians choosing to take humanities HL subjects, to students who have struggled with Mathematics throughout their school career. One fundamental objective of this course is to encourage effective communication at all levels and in all forms. At the IB Diploma level all students will be expected to make full and proper use of technology as a tool to explore familiar and new topics and to communicate their ideas. This technology will include general skills applicable to other curriculum areas, such as Excel, PowerPoint, and also Mathematics specific with the use of Autograph, graphing calculators and appropriate geometry software. The fundamental teaching and learning philosophy will be one that mirrors the existing philosophy established throughout JESS. Students will experience a wide range of learning and teaching styles as a means to refine old ideas and acquire new ones.

Students at JESS will follow an enriched Mathematical Studies curriculum that will weave in cultural and historical aspects in an attempt to explore the international aspect of Mathematics and the contribution that various cultures have made to the development of Mathematics. Thus, early in the course, students will undertake a research project to answer the provocative question, “Most of the influential Mathematics used today was developed by male western Europeans. Discuss.” Development of the Arabic Number system and the influence on today’s western base 10 number system will be a natural point of discussion within this sphere and this will set the tone for the rest of the course where fundamental concepts will be introduced in their historical and cultural context.

Our aims therefore are to encourage all students to communicate their ideas about Mathematics in an effective manner set within an appropriate cultural and historical context.

Assessment
All students will be formally examined at the end of the two-year course. Students will take two papers featuring short and long responses. The Internal Assessment offers students the opportunity to pursue their independent research skills working on a single project in a particular area of mathematical interest. Initial discussions will take place towards the end of the first year with the final completed project due by the end of November of the second year.