Surrey Maths School aptitude test

Hi, I’m in year 11 and I’m sitting the aptitude test for Surrey Maths School on Saturday. Over the Christmas holidays I’ve done a lot of GCSE maths and Further maths as well as some intermediate maths challenge questions but I was wondering if anyone had any advice for other ways to prepare or any info about the school itself and what it’s like there?

hey, im at the school right now, and i can give you a bit of a rundown
in terms of the aptitude test, i sat it for the first cohort so thought it was pretty simple, but i know that they made it harder for last year, and probably a bit more this year. not to worry though - it is typically very IMC/SMC style, so i would definitely look into more of those questions. there should be sample tests on all the maths school websites too - check out sample tests on kings, imperial, surrey, exeter etc. websites for extra questions.
be sure that you are familiar with gcse content - they dont tend to put fm content, its normally just from the gcse, so should be pretty good for you, but make sure you know how to APPLY it.
the school is wonderful! even though you end up somewhere potentially far from where you love, (my journey is pretty long haha) away from all your other friends and with completely new people, the people here will be so like minded to you and have very interesting fun hobbies that are great to engage with. the girl boy split is about 1:2, which is pretty reasonable, and doesnt make the girls feel left out at all which is great.
there are plenty of clubs to engage with, and you are always free to launch new clubs and societies when you want. we have media club, debate, knitting, chess, femsoc, robotics, etc.
unique to maths schools, we also do spq, which is like an epq but in a group. you get to choose a maths/chem/compsci/physics/econ topic to do research on with a mentor from surrey uni, and it is a great way to develop your research skills and knowledge on something you are interested in. whilst you dont get a formal qualification, it is a great thing for personal statements.
lmk if you have any other questions 🙂

Hi, I’m in year 11 and I’m sitting the aptitude test for Surrey Maths School on Saturday. Over the Christmas holidays I’ve done a lot of GCSE maths and Further maths as well as some intermediate maths challenge questions but I was wondering if anyone had any advice for other ways to prepare or any info about the school itself and what it’s like there?

Tysm that’s really helpful 😁
The school sounds great from what I’ve heard especially as my journey wouldn’t be too far!
What are the lessons like compared to secondary school do you get books or do you use binders/ notebooks?

How did u find the test?

what you record notes on is up to you - many of us use ipads/touch screen laptops to take our notes, but i personally prefer using notebooks, which the school do provide us with. you are, however, expected to have your own device, on which you can get the class questions up on and do research on.
lessons are different in that they are quite a bit faster than secondary and we cover content in lessons quite quickly so you are expected to keep a decent pace, but the teachers are always around to ask questions to - in fact, i would encourage you do as they are very helpful in that.
there is also quite a collaborative nature to lessons, where you can get up and work on big whiteboards around the class in small groups, which i personally love to do.
hope thats okay!

That sounds great!! During the taster morning we did a little bit of collaborative work on the whiteboards and I really enjoyed it! Thank you again for all your help 😄

hiya , i applied to surrey maths aswell this year and did my exam , my parents just got the email about me getting an interview
and im acc so happy , do u know what percentage of interviewiess get offers?

I thought we receive interviews on the 23rd of Jan thats what I have been told in the email.

hiya , i applied to surrey maths aswell this year and did my exam , my parents just got the email about me getting an interview
and im acc so happy , do u know what percentage of interviewiess get offers?

I thought we receive interviews on the 23rd of Jan thats what I have been told in the email.

omg same i got an interview too!!!

did anyone get an email with date and time and ZOOM link for the interview.
apparently some people got that, not just an email to parents say your kids get an interview and reply by 21 Jan 1400.

yeah I got teams link

yeah I got teams link

yh it was like a glitch with gmail not sending properly
so lots of people didnt get the email

what you record notes on is up to you - many of us use ipads/touch screen laptops to take our notes, but i personally prefer using notebooks, which the school do provide us with. you are, however, expected to have your own device, on which you can get the class questions up on and do research on.
lessons are different in that they are quite a bit faster than secondary and we cover content in lessons quite quickly so you are expected to keep a decent pace, but the teachers are always around to ask questions to - in fact, i would encourage you do as they are very helpful in that.
there is also quite a collaborative nature to lessons, where you can get up and work on big whiteboards around the class in small groups, which i personally love to do.
hope thats okay!

This isn't unique to a Maths school - pace of lessons depends on where you were before.
Large whiteboards are in other schools too as well as collaborative work.

I know - I was just describing the way the school functions. I don't think I said anything that would insinuate that a maths school is starkly different from a typical college or sixth form