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People who are taking or have done Further Maths - HELP

I'm still unsure about taking Further Maths as my fourth AS. Please post what you got in GCSE Maths if you have taken Further Maths, and comment how hard it is to understand out of 10. Thanks

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Reply 1
Well it is a long time since I did it and my OLevel grades do not translate so well

BUT

I teach it and only accept people on to the course if they have an A* at GCSE, were predicted an A* at GCSE and were able to convince me that they have an understanding of maths rather than a capacity to pass maths exams

Then they get As at AS and at least a B at A2
Reply 2
Just flipping take it, its quite clear that you want too.

Original post by multiplexing-gamer
I'm still unsure about taking Further Maths as my fourth AS. Please post what you got in GCSE Maths if you have taken Further Maths, and comment how hard it is to understand out of 10. Thanks
Reply 3
gcse grades dont mean **** , I got a C in gcse maths and A* in FM at a level..If you find AS/A2 maths easy , go for it..
Reply 4
There's a huge difference between A level Maths (and by extension FM) and GCSE maths. I learnt what I needed for all the GCSE Maths exam in year 9, and to be brutally honest, there isn't nothing hard in it if you're competent at Maths. A-level maths is a completely different, and while I don't find it difficult so far, it's a step up from GCSE Maths.

If you can, try and do FSMQ. It pretty much covers all of C1 and C2 in AS Maths (bar Logs and sequences), and it even throws in a bit of D1 (Linear Programming) and M1 (Kinematics). See how you do in that.

If you can't, who cares? As long as you feel you're good in Maths and you're interested in it, take it.

If you're good at maths, there is no reason why you shouldn't take it. And to be fair, GCSE Maths doesn't mean ****.
I don't do FM but I noticed in my year, the people who got A* at Gcse and an A at AS maths achieved an A in AS FM

The people who achieved an A at GCSE, went on to achieve a B at AS maths and FM

Don't rely on these small statistics, if you feel you can handle it, do it. The post above me got a C and then an A* at a level so it's possible to turn it around
Original post by This Honest
I don't do FM but I noticed in my year, the people who got A* at Gcse and an A at AS maths achieved an A in AS FM

The people who achieved an A at GCSE, went on to achieve a B at AS maths and FM

Don't rely on these small statistics, if you feel you can handle it, do it. The post above me got a C and then an A* at a level so it's possible to turn it around


Do people usually get the same in Further maths to Maths?
Original post by multiplexing-gamer
Do people usually get the same in Further maths to Maths?


IMO if you're good at FM, then you should easily do better or the same in AS maths. At my school, if you don't get an A in AS maths, you will not be allowed to take FM A2.
But like I said, it depends on your work effort
FM is hard. That's why I'm doing Maths lol
My results, since you ask:

Spoiler



Do it, it's a good subject. I think most people can do well if they work hard, wheras essay subjects are less cut and dry.

And AS FM is much easier than A2 maths, as FP1 is fine and the other two modules are options.
Original post by multiplexing-gamer
Do people usually get the same in Further maths to Maths?


I would say on average about one grade lower in FM. However, if you take both subjects with the same board, the modules are grouped to favour your first A level. Also taking FM gives you extra practice in Maths, which adds about half a grade to your first A level.
Original post by multiplexing-gamer
I'm still unsure about taking Further Maths as my fourth AS. Please post what you got in GCSE Maths if you have taken Further Maths, and comment how hard it is to understand out of 10. Thanks


Hi there,
I'm at the beginning of year 12 and I am taking Further Maths along with Biology, Maths and Geography A2. The reason I say that is because all those subjects were in your sig (well, except A2 Geog, I assume you are doing AS at first. I did mine early). For me these subjects work reasonably well with each other and aren't TOO much work. However, if I were doing five, I personally would struggle. Anyway, I'm getting off topic!

I spend more time on my FM work than any of my other subjects. Partly this is because my teachers give me HUGE amounts of homework (our school decided to give us few FM lessons in the timetable, why I don't know). I am not ashamed to admit I struggle at times with the topics in FP1. Try not to listen to people who boast it is "easy", it isn't. I got A* at GCSE, but as others have said, it doesn't matter too much. In my class there are quite a few people who got lower than this and they don't struggle any more than anyone else. It does make Core 1 seem easy, in my C1 lessons I am allowed to sit and do the work I want after the teacher's covered the basics. It's pretty straightforward and easier to pick up than FP1. A lot of C1 is based on GCSE knowledge.

Further Maths is really rewarding so far, in my experience. But only take it if you truly have interest in and enjoyment of mathematics!! I couldn't give it a rating out of 10, cause I feel it's quite subjective. Good luck with your GCSEs this year and I hope you come to the right decision for YOU about this subject :smile:
Reply 11
I found i quite difficult, however it depends what you actually want to do in university. do you NEED fm?

if not suggest you pick another as, do have some variety in ur choices. unless you want to do maths in uni , then go ahead.

I got an A* in maths and an A in FM . :'( that's just bcoz imma beaast

Spoiler

(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by TenOfThem
I teach it and only accept people on to the course if they have an A* at GCSE, were predicted an A* at GCSE and were able to convince me that they have an understanding of maths rather than a capacity to pass maths exams

Then they get As at AS and at least a B at A2


Bloody glad you aren't my teacher, I got an A in maths at GCSE. I'd be pretty annoyed if I went to my head of maths and he told me to get off the course because I 'only got an A'.
Original post by multiplexing-gamer
I'm still unsure about taking Further Maths as my fourth AS. Please post what you got in GCSE Maths if you have taken Further Maths, and comment how hard it is to understand out of 10. Thanks


I got 97% (raw) at GCSE
1/10 difficult to understand, it's very straight forward but it's really really interesting!
Original post by TenOfThem
Well it is a long time since I did it and my OLevel grades do not translate so well

BUT

I teach it and only accept people on to the course if they have an A* at GCSE, were predicted an A* at GCSE and were able to convince me that they have an understanding of maths rather than a capacity to pass maths exams

Then they get As at AS and at least a B at A2


If they already got an A* at GCSE, why does it matter if they were predicted an A* or not? Everyone knows how unreliable GCSE predictions are and it's not fair to filter out those people who were unfortunate enough to be predicted an A or below who are clearly competent at Maths..
Reply 15
basically if ur good at maths do it, otherwise ur gonna risk getting a bad grade and going to ****ty uni like london met ajajajjajjaaj
Reply 16
Original post by rbnphlp
gcse grades dont mean **** , I got a C in gcse maths and A* in FM at a level..If you find AS/A2 maths easy , go for it..


they let u do FM w/ C grade damn. and u considered taking fm w/ C grade rofl. u troll
Reply 17
Further maths is very easy.

It is also vital for a large proportion of the good uni courses.

Take it.

I only got about 185 on my GCSE
Reply 18
Original post by sabik123
they let u do FM w/ C grade damn. and u considered taking fm w/ C grade rofl. u troll


they didnt let me, I taught myself you douche bag..
Reply 19
I would definitely recommend FM to anyone who wants to do any course at uni which is heavily Maths based such as Maths, Physics, Computer Science or a path of Engineering.

If you are going for anything which is only slightly Maths based, then it is all up to you, as it is not necessary.

If you are going for something which is completely Non mathematical, then I would certainly recommend not doing FM as you are wasting your time, you can be doing a subject which has a higher necessity to your course

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