Is it possible or sensible to take Edexcel S2 without taking S1?

I just wondered if anyone knew enough about Edexcel Maths A level to say if it is possible or sensible to do the S2 stats module for A2, having taken the M1 (Mechanics) module for AS (raher than the S1)?

This is about my daughter. For GCSE, she did well in sciences, Edexcel Maths and the separate Edexcel stats GCSE. She got the school prize for the stats result.

She wasn't really sure what she wanted to do at Uni, but thought it may be Bio/Chem/Natural Sciences. So she is taking Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Geography and History for AS. Her plans have settled over the year, and she is now sure she wants to go on to Bio Nat Sci, so she plans to take the first 3 to A2.

For AS, she chose the Mechanics module M1. Now she is more certain what she wants to go on to take at Uni, and having experienced M1 (she thinks it is Ok but not excited by it), she is planning to take module S1 in her A2 year.

I haven't really studied the course content much yet, or compared it with the Edxcel Stats GCSE. However, I wondered if the S1 module was similar in content and difficulty to (or not too much more difficult than) the Stats GCSE?

So I was wondering if it was possible or even sensible for her to ask about taking the S2 module instead? Whether that might help her more in her chosen area of Bio Nat Sci?

Any comments or tales from your own experience gratefully received

is possible or sensible to do the S2 stats module for A2, having taken the M1 (Mechanics) module for AS (raher than the S1)?

I just wondered if anyone knew enough about Edexcel Maths A level to say if it is possible or sensible to do the S2 stats module for A2, having taken the M1 (Mechanics) module for AS (raher than the S1)?

This is about my daughter. For GCSE, she did well in sciences, Edexcel Maths and the separate Edexcel stats GCSE. She got the school prize for the stats result.

She wasn't really sure what she wanted to do at Uni, but thought it may be Bio/Chem/Natural Sciences. So she is taking Biology, Chemistry, Maths, Geography and History for AS. Her plans have settled over the year, and she is now sure she wants to go on to Bio Nat Sci, so she plans to take the first 3 to A2.

For AS, she chose the Mechanics module M1. Now she is more certain what she wants to go on to take at Uni, and having experienced M1 (she thinks it is Ok but not excited by it), she is planning to take module S1 in her A2 year.

I haven't really studied the course content much yet, or compared it with the Edxcel Stats GCSE. However, I wondered if the S1 module was similar in content and difficulty to (or not too much more difficult than) the Stats GCSE?

So I was wondering if it was possible or even sensible for her to ask about taking the S2 module instead? Whether that might help her more in her chosen area of Bio Nat Sci?

Any comments or tales from your own experience gratefully received

Like C2, C3, C4 etc are all extensions of C1, S2 will be an extension of S1.

All of maths is a massive step up from GCSE to Maths.
I did really well in the core subjects but struggled with the applied (mechanics and stats)
Where you said the fact that she has taken M1 will not make a difference to her taking S1 as the material is completely different. I don't recall anything from S1 being in M1 or vice versa.

Not having taken S2, i can't 100% say it, but i would still say that from the fact that S2 is an extension of S1, she should really take S1 first.
At uni, the techniques she would need to use would be ran over again anyways so if she had missed some material from S2 needed at uni, she would be able to learn it there anyways

I hope this all makes sense and i haven't just rambled...

I'm doing S2 now, after having done S1 last year. To be honest the best bet is for your daughter to do the S1 module, its quite a step up from Stats GCSE (I know because I did that too), and S2 is an extension of some of the stuff you learn in S1. There's a few chapters in S2 for which knowledge of S1 is essential, such as the normal distribution chapters, and so IMO the best option would be to do S1, rather than S2

I don't think you should put weight on the fact that she has done GCSE Statistics, it is not in the same league as S1.


S2 requires






Link to Specifications

http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE New GCE/UA024850 GCE in Mathematics issue 2 180510.pdf

It sounds like you think that AS is such a huge step from GCSE, that the answer to that is no?

I think you guys didn't notice that actually C1-4, M1 and S2 don't make the A-Level maths qualification.

what?!
I don't quite see what you are on about?

In order to get an A-Level in mathematics you have to do the core modules (c1, c2, c3 and c4) and then 2 applied modules (in my case it was M1 and S1)

If you're saying that C1-C4, M1 and S2 aren't the ONLY things involved with A-level maths, then you are only part-correct.
like i said, you need to do the core modules, but the applied modules come from either M1, M2, S1 or S2.

(Bear in mine that this is what i was told when at school)

what?!
I don't quite see what you are on about?

In order to get an A-Level in mathematics you have to do the core modules (c1, c2, c3 and c4) and then 2 applied modules (in my case it was M1 and S1)

If you're saying that C1-C4, M1 and S2 aren't the ONLY things involved with A-level maths, then you are only part-correct.
like i said, you need to do the core modules, but the applied modules come from either M1, M2, S1 or S2.

(Bear in mine that this is what i was told when at school)

She is doing almost exactly the same as my daughter did!
I would say she needs to do the S1 first judging by what my daughter has said. She did the whole of Maths A level in 1 year (M1, S1, C1,2,3 & 4) and is now doing Further Maths (M2, S2, D1, FP 1,2,3) and has done S2 this year.
If she has already done M1 then she may as well do S1 as the A2 section in A level Maths is actually based on Core 3 and 4 and to get an A* in Maths she needs the grades in C3 and C4 (90% plus)
The Stats will be useful for Biology so I would say do it though Biology stats appear to work slightly differently which caused some clashes and it is taught separately in Biology at her school. It comes up in the ISA part quite heavily.
Many unis ask for Maths when applying for Biology.
My daughter did/is doing Biology, Maths, Further Maths and Physics at A2 and took Chemistry to AS.
She has a place at Oxford for Biology which specifically asked for Maths but she also had offers for 3 Natural Science courses and another Biology with these subjects.
Hope she gets some clarification from school and find the right route forward for her

It looks as if raheem94 is correct




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Her(OP's daughter) combination isn't possible, she isn't going to do further maths, she is only doing A-Level maths, and in A-Level maths she can't take M1 and S2 as applied modules.

Your daughter is doing A-Level further maths, hence it is possible for her but not the OP's daughter.

I think it is because she said her daughter is planning to take S1 in the A2 year anyway but should she try and go straight to S2 instead and bypass S1 in case that would help her in her chosen university subject.
That is what I read it to mean.

In A-Level maths must be done.

The 2 applied modules can't be any applied modules.
If you take two '1' (i.e. the '1' is like S'1', M'1') modules, then the combination is okay. But if you take a '1' and '2' modules, then both of them must be from the same series, e.g. they can be M1 and M2, S1 and S2, D1 and D2. But they can't be from 2 different fields e.g. you can't take D1 and S2, M1 and D2, S1 and M2, etc

So the combination being considered in the first post isn't correct.

Do i make any sense?

Haha, i knew this
I had basically said what you have said "You can't do the '2' part without first having done the '2' part "

As i said in the original one of my posts "S2 will be an extension of S1"

So I was in fact not wrong in any instance