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Is a B at GCSE maths good enough to do it for A - level?

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Yeah, that's the grade you need to do A level Maths. My friend got a C and wasn't accepted, they wanted a B minimum.
You can't determine your A level grades from GCSE. some people who get A* in GCSE failed in AS level. it all depend on how hard you work in A levels, take it seriously and you get the grades you deserve :biggrin:
Reply 21
A high B? Possibly. Depends on your school and the competition for the course, In our school they allowed people with C's to take it, they're doing awful. Some of the people with B's are doing great, some with A's are doing terrible. If you like Maths, A level maths is a walk in the park, express your willingness to put in the extra effort and I'm sure they'll allow you
Reply 22
Maths at A level is mostly about work, you will literally get out what you've put in. Natural aptitude doesn't really come into it, what does is how much you want to do it and how much you enjoy it. If you're only getting an B at GCSE, you should first work out why. Chances are you just haven't worked enough at it, and that's because you don't enjoy it enough to get motivated or enjoy learning the material. If this is gonna carry at A level, then you should think twice, because you don't want to be fighting against something you don't enjoy for 2 years at a fairly high level. If you're motivated however, then there shouldn't be a problem
I imagine @Mr M probably has some statistics on this.
Reply 24
Original post by Mahfuz_A
I'm very likely to get a B grade at maths in the 2016 exams.
My question is: Will this grade be good enough to do A2 maths?
AND
Will a B at GCSE be enough to achieve an A at A2 maths?


I think so , i got a B at GCSE and right now my predicted grade is an A* (derived from from mock results+performance targets etc). It's also worth noting that top grades at GCSE do not necessarily lead to A level success there are people i know that got multiple A*s at GCSE (including maths + statistics) failed at AS ,so a B is substantial in my eyes
Reply 25
Original post by Miss.Unknow
Yeah, that's the grade you need to do A level Maths. My friend got a C and wasn't accepted, they wanted a B minimum.
You can't determine your A level grades from GCSE. some people who get A* in GCSE failed in AS level. it all depend on how hard you work in A levels, take it seriously and you get the grades you deserve :biggrin:


are you currently doing maths (A2)?
Original post by Mahfuz_A
I'm very likely to get a B grade at maths in the 2016 exams.
My question is: Will this grade be good enough to do A2 maths?
AND
Will a B at GCSE be enough to achieve an A at A2 maths?


I got an A at gcse maths and at the moment I'm achieving A's/B's. It is one of the most hardest A-Levels and if you're not willing to work for it, then I wouldn't even consider it. My friend got a B at gcse, but she is focusing on her other subjects more so she's only getting C's-E's. A-Level covers a lot more topics than gcse, the gcse topics are covered very slightly in statistics but with the addition of harder stuff too. It's a big jump up. But that's not to say you can't do it, I know the subjects are a lot more intense but there's only 4 to worry about now. Anything is possible.
Original post by Carnationlilyrose
I imagine @Mr M probably has some statistics on this.


I do but the statistics are old (2006). That research showed that the most probable grade from a starting point of grade B at GCSE mathematics was grade U at A Level mathematics. Grade A at A Level from this starting point is extremely unusual.

Mahfuz_A - new courses have recently been introduced for those with GCSE grade B/C - these are called Level 3 Certificates (or most commonly 'Core Maths'). They run for two years, are terminally examined and have the same UCAS points as an AS Level. This might be a better choice if you wish to continue to study maths post-16.

http://www.core-maths.org/about-core-maths/students/
Original post by Mr M
I do but the statistics are old (2006). That research showed that the most probable grade from a starting point of grade B at GCSE mathematics was grade U at A Level mathematics. Grade A at A Level from this starting point is extremely unusual.


These are the stats I'm familiar with, certainly. They are the ones my school used to quote to people in the OP's position.
Original post by Mahfuz_A
I'm very likely to get a B grade at maths in the 2016 exams.
My question is: Will this grade be good enough to do A2 maths?
AND
Will a B at GCSE be enough to achieve an A at A2 maths?


The key point is that GCSE is not a good grounding for A-level really. If your B is the result of focussed hard work at maths over a long period then maybe it is a worry.
If you are like many students and work hard sometimes and not at other times and maybe neglect you studies on occasion then it is fine. A-level maths is hard work but also has a high status as currency for HE.
Reply 30
Original post by UTG8
Maths at A level is mostly about work, you will literally get out what you've put in. Natural aptitude doesn't really come into it, what does is how much you want to do it and how much you enjoy it. If you're only getting an B at GCSE, you should first work out why. Chances are you just haven't worked enough at it, and that's because you don't enjoy it enough to get motivated or enjoy learning the material. If this is gonna carry at A level, then you should think twice, because you don't want to be fighting against something you don't enjoy for 2 years at a fairly high level. If you're motivated however, then there shouldn't be a problem


There are some aspects of maths which I do enjoy but others which I don't.
The whole point in me wanting to do A - level maths is because I want to do Architecture at Uni. I'm also willing to put a great deal of effort in for the next two years for a minimum of an A at A - level.
Do you think it's worth it?
I think for the time being, you should focus on GCSE maths and work your hardest to get the best possible grade in this. Don't worry about what teachers 'predict' you to get; what really matters is the grade you get in the actual exam. Just be confident in your own abilities, do plenty of practice and you may surprise yourself on results day and get higher than a B! Its great that you are thinking ahead about your A-levels but put 100% into your gcses now whilst you still have the chance!
Good luck! :smile:
Original post by xs4
are you currently doing maths (A2)?

Im doing AS maths atm.....the more you practice the more you will get familiar with all the questions! A couple of student in the class dropped it cause it was too much on them (their GCSE grade was an A*/A) at the end of the day, it all depends on how well you cope with it and if you put work into it you will get the best grades :biggrin:
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 33
Original post by Mahfuz_A
There are some aspects of maths which I do enjoy but others which I don't.
The whole point in me wanting to do A - level maths is because I want to do Architecture at Uni. I'm also willing to put a great deal of effort in for the next two years for a minimum of an A at A - level.
Do you think it's worth it?


I think it's super important and really good that you know what you want to do at uni, and in my opinion that would probably make A level maths worth it. However, if you're think you could change your mind about architecture (potentially to something that doesn't need maths) then take a step back and do what you like and will get high grades in, many courses and careers don't care; they just want high grades. Architecture is obviously an exception to this though as there's only one approach to getting in, not like courses such as Econ or PPE, but imo that's a positive because it'll help so much motivation wise etc. that you know where you're going and what you need to get there.

TLDR: If you're set on architecture being your future, go for it - you have one clear goal to focus on and reach, and this will get you through. If not, then take a step back and go for what you like and can do well in. I think for you it's not "A level maths?", but "How set am I on architecture?"
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 34
AS maths is a different ballgame compared to GCSE.. it's not any 'harder' but you need to be prepared to practice
Out of my 5 subjects it's the easiest as it's skill based :smile:

Some people, who got A*s at GCSE hate AS maths... it really depends if you truly enjoy solving problems. It's a rewarding subject!

My school don't allow people to do AS maths with a B though.. but it depends on your school
Around 4 people in my class of what was about 16 dropped out
(edited 7 years ago)
Reply 35
Original post by Jitesh


Some people, who got A*s at GCSE hate AS maths... it really depends if you truly enjoy solving problems. It's a rewarding subject!


What? This doesn't make sense. If you truly love solving problems, you'll hate maths at A-Level, it requires very little thought, creativity or ingenuity and is nothing but a shallow phantom of 'problem solving'.
Reply 36
@ UTG8
Thanks for that detailed answer. I'll take it in.
Reply 37
Original post by Zacken
What? This doesn't make sense. If you truly love solving problems, you'll hate maths at A-Level, it requires very little thought, creativity or ingenuity and is nothing but a shallow phantom of 'problem solving'.


Well, it can provide the foundation for other mathematical enrichment like SMC
Reply 38
Original post by Jitesh
Well, it can provide the foundation for other mathematical enrichment like SMC


"SMC" lol. :rolleyes:
To be honest it depends how much you like graphs.

I got an A at GCSE but a D at A-Level (an E at AS Level).
My problem was the only area I didn't get very well at GCSE was graphs and geometry. Then I started my AS levels and my maths teacher said; "This term we are doing is C1. It is all geomerty". I thought "oh well at least I can get it over and done with it. I scraped a C. Then we started the next term; "Leading on from what we did in C1"!! This was the same for all 4 core modules.
I got a B in Decisions maths and a C in Statistics but got Es for all my core modules (and 2 of those were on resits).

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