AQA GCSE MATHS, Higher, Paper 1 (NON CALC)

If we're thinking of the same question - this being the drawn axis without any digits, the information given was something like y=x^2. If this was the case I can remember that the question was out of a total of 1 mark, specifying that for the mark 2 correct coordinates must be shown - this being (0,1). This question was most definitely an A/A* topic.

Thanks again for replying to this thread In regards to the questions I have attached a word file of my answers based from memory, compared to that of the unofficial mark scheme. I'd like to see how you think you compared to this, taking in to account that these answers are only a prediction, however many do appear to be correct.

Cheers

For 17b, was it wrong to put -2.2 and 2.2? No one else seems to have put it but I can't see why it's wrong

Honestly I can't remember what this question was precisely. My only guess would be that this question was on the topic of surds or square roots, which if this is the case the answer to a square root can include both a positive and negative answer. Most people forgot or don't realise to write the negative, as the answer line is single and not double (like the solutions question). If I am regarding the right question, I remember that I didn't do this anyways - so don't take my word completely.

If you wouldn't mind replying what grade you think you've achieved in this paper, as I'm still sweating over if I've messed up or not. The worst part was coming out of the exam and overhearing how to complete the plumbing/pipes question on creating the equation, seems so easy to me now - shame it was the only question with a total of 5 marks :/ That said, good old Drayne Pipes did make me feel a little bit happier...

I was really gutted at my performance during that paper! I had literally done all of the past papers available for AQA, OCR and CGP, and seemed to get relatively consistent marks (either high A or A*). I finished in half an hour and the question's had really knocked my confidence, some i couldn't answer...
The thing is i really want to do A-level maths and now I'm not sure that i even got an A (which is the entry requirement for my school)
Everyone keeps on saying 'oh don't worry, you can make it up in the calculator paper, but what if i don't?

To be honest my target grade is a B, personally I'm striving to get a C, so that I never have to spend any more time wrapping my head around simultaneous equations. When coming out of the exam I also felt absolutely wrenched and still now I feel that to some degree I let myself down. For preparation I remember doing countless amounts of past papers, which all averaged at a C/B, yet I didn't worry about if I achieved my target because they were only mock exams. Which presented the conclusion that I didn't see myself doing so well in the real exam, because I care about it, when you really want something to be just so, any slight doubt can really knock you for 10. If you've been doing well before hand there's no reason why you shouldn't be In the same position of when you did your last mock.

The whole reason I started this thread was because I felt disappointed in my performance, perhaps I needed a small confidence boost. The point I am trying to make here is that there will always be people in the same boat as you, usually the people who say that the exam was easy are the people who answered the questions wrong. If the general grade boundaries for an A average at around 40, try and reflect on the answers you wrote down, maybe count up the marks or pages you think you got right, it's most common that you vividly remember the bad parts of the exam more than any representative good sections.

As of now I'm preparing for the calculator paper and looking forward to the marks I can achieve in this exam. It's possible to excel in paper 2 and bump up your grades by 2, if not 3 boundaries. The best thing to do is not look back on what's already written, instead look forward on getting what you deserve in the rest of your exams. There's no point on letting a usually excellent performance drag your confidence down on the rest of your education. That said, If you don't quite get the grades you were aiming for there's always multiple ways of getting what you strive for in life. Most of the time colleges understand everybody has slip ups, particularly in exams, often they look into different alternative or if you are really persistent they might take into account grades achieved from other subjects that might give you a footing of entry into a maths A levels.

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply to my post, I understand what you're saying. I suppose I just needed time to realise that I'm not the only one who actually took the exam. I just really wanted to get awesome grades to prove to my self that all my hard work actually pays off!
I hope you get the grade you were hoping for and once again thanks you! x