Gill Learning

Not yet joined us but fancy a sneak peek at our Members' Webinars? You can now check out our Teaser Trailers on the new Videos tab on our website.

https://www.gill-learning.co.uk/videos

Our latest ⭐WEBINAR⭐ is now available.

There's been some controversy in the news cycle recently regarding Student Loans in England and Wales. That debate inspired our latest webinar and makes it especially topical!

Can you read a payslip? Do you understand tax bands and thresholds? Have you ever watched a budget be delivered in the House of Commons?

This webinar is truly REAL-WORLD 🌍 focussed. After watching, you'll be able to calculate your take-home pay, and you'll understand why being maths-confident is vital for your financial literacy. 💷 🪙 💳 💰

Instant access is available for all our Octahedron and Dodecahedron members via our Members' Hub - we hope to see you over there!

Not yet a member? You can sign up here - https://www.gill-learning.co.uk/memberships - and we look forward to you joining us.

📣 We now accept PayPal 📣

Whilst Google and Apple 🍏 Pay have always been available to our customers using mobile devices, PC users were perhaps short on options when reaching our checkout 💷 page.

We have now done the paperwork, configured the website settings, and PayPal is an option for anyone who wishes to use it.

Please rest assured, though, that when choosing to pay by debit 💳 or credit card, your payment is dealt with securely 🔗 by the Wix Payments system.

Is this a case of "Who dares wins"?

Parents, are you struggling to decide between Maths (I)GCSE Foundation and Higher tiers?

If you're a home educator, the choice is entirely yours, of course. But do you understand enough about the makeup of the exam papers, and the overlap between the two tiers, to be able to choose wisely?

We break it all down for you here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYW576k6Ih8&t=203s - in our 5 SECRETS of GCSE Maths Exam Papers.

Don't fall into the trap of assuming that Foundation Maths is the easiest route to a Grade 4 pass - because it very often isn't!

Ever wondered 🤨 why our company mascot is an octopus?

Grab a coffee ☕ and read the full story as to how this came about (along with lots of Octopus 🐙 facts) in our blog post linked below.

TL;DR - it's because of the relatability of many of the octopus' traits and biology to Gill Learning and our learning pedagogies and ethos (who'd have thought?):

• the tenacity and intrigue to fathom things out

• the ability to complete a side task at the same time as remaining focused on the main problem at hand

• a mimic, when the challenge dictates, but first and foremost a thinker 🤔

• two gills, each with their own dedicated heart 💕

• the mathematical-sounding classification of an octopod

https://www.gill-learning.co.uk/post/why-an-octopus-mascot

A great prelude to our upcoming cryptography course.

"Tracing the extraordinary story of the amateur codebreakers who collaborated across continents to decipher a mysterious cache of coded letters which were discovered to be from Mary, Queen of Scots."

BBC Scotland - The Secret Letters of Mary Queen of Scots Deciphering a mysterious cache of coded letters from Mary, Queen of Scots.

Our inaugural WEBINAR is now available to watch on-demand! 📺

Join us as we explore the ✖️ POWER of FRACTIONS ➗ both within GCSE Maths and in the big wide world 🌍 that exists beyond Yr 11 exams.

Our Octahedron and Dodecahedron members can find the link 🔗 on their members-only pages 🔒 🗝️ And if you're not yet a member, well then now's a great time to jump on-board 🏄

Are you looking for some 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀-𝗼𝗻 👉 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀? Interested in low-cost STEM project kits?

𝗞𝗶𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗸 is a company we've bought from many times over the years. They specialise in 𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗸𝗶𝘁𝘀 🪫 including kits for the BBC micro:bit, the Raspberry Pi, and Arduino 🕹️ These are all pocket-sized computers "𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘥𝘦, 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘴, 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦." They design and manufacture all their own kits from their base in Nottingham, and we've always been hugely impressed 😍 with both their products and accompanying resources.

If you're looking for 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁, we'd happily recommend https://kitronik.co.uk/collections/microbit-and-accessories/products/5618-bbc-microbit-with-inventors-kit-and-accessories

Fancy something a bit more substantial for 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺'𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁? https://kitronik.co.uk/blogs/resources/microbit-move-mini-football-bett-2019-part-2 is part of their microbit-controlled Kitronik:CITY 🏙️ They offer laser-print and 3D-print files for the stadium itself but cardboard modelling or Lego/Meccano would make excellent alternatives.

There's plenty of guidance and tutorials available on their website, too - https://kitronik.co.uk/pages/kitronik-university

📢👨‍💼 CAREERS ADVICE 👩‍💼🧮

What can you do with a degree in Mathematics? The list is nigh on endless, but here's one idea - you could join GCHQ! 🕵️‍♂️

"We’re the Government Communications Headquarters – otherwise known as GCHQ. Tasked by UK government, we’re a world-leading intelligence, cyber and security agency. Our mission is to keep the UK and its citizens safe. We're really proud of our purpose - and our people. Join us to be a part of it all."

For when the time comes, undergraduates can join their two-week insight programme, or one of their nine-week summer internships. You can read more about the opportunities at GCHQ below (while the link is valid).

https://recruitmentservices.applicationtrack.com/vx/appcentre-a36/brand-0/candidate/so/pm/1/pl/6/opp/3568-Maths-and-Cryptography-Opportunities-Registration-Of-Interest-Ref-3568/en-GB

For any younger budding cryptographers, our October 𝗖𝗶𝗽𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗿𝘆𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆 course would be a great place to start! 💪 💯

Our 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗔𝗹𝗴𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮 (a.k.a. Fractions Deep Dive) course is hugely impactful 💥🚀 and takes students from understanding Yr6 and Yr7 fractions all the way through to completing ✅ 𝟰-𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗚𝗖𝗦𝗘 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀!

Check out 16 of the 55 video lessons for free - https://www.gill-learning.co.uk/on-demand-educational-courses/algebra - and maybe you'll choose to take on the challenge to become a Fractions Ninja 🥷

Are you deciding 🤔 whether to embark on Foundation or Higher Tier GCSE Maths? Or maybe you're facing a decision regarding an upcoming resit and wondering whether or not to step down to the Foundation Tier?

For students who are likely to be targeting a grade 4️⃣ or 5️⃣, there's more to understand about the exam papers than you realise!

Get the lowdown on exactly how exam papers (all boards) are designed and what it means to students in just 10 minutes ⏱️ by watching the video below.

5 SECRETS of GCSE Maths Exam Papers Expand to read more ⬇️ Should you sit the Foundation or Higher tier of GCSE Maths? The answer might surprise you.In this video, Michael draws back the curtai...