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how bad is an A in gcse maths?

i'm taking maths and further maths for a-level and looking at the grade boundaries for gcse, i'm 99% certain i've just missed out on the A*. i was wondering if it's worth retaking it to get an A* and if it matters at all (because i would like top grades in subjects i'm doing at a-level, especially maths), or whether i should just leave it.

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Yeah it's bad.
What is your Sixth Form's requirements for Further Maths? If it's A* in GCSE Maths then just drop Further Maths and choose something else (unless the Uni course you plan to take requires a Further Maths A level, in that case you'll have to persuade them that you'll work extra hard for that grade)
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by bittr n swt
Yeah it's bad.

hopefully my school will let me retake it, then :redface:

shawn_o1- my sixth form only requires an A for to do further maths so i guess it's alright but i desperately want that A* so i might still resit.
(edited 9 years ago)
Original post by tanyapotter
hopefully my school will let me retake it, then :redface:

shawn_o1- my sixth form only requires an A for to do further maths so i guess it's alright but i desperately want that A* so i might still resit.


I wasn't being totally serious ..an A is one less from the top grade.
It's good but if you desperately want the A* then I would suggest getting the A* in maths A level.

Everyone who got an A and below at GCSE maths at my school never got an A* in maths- just for the record
Original post by bittr n swt
I wasn't being totally serious ..an A is one less from the top grade.
It's good but if you desperately want the A* then I would suggest getting the A* in maths A level.

Everyone who got an A and below at GCSE maths at my school never got an A* in maths- just for the record

fair enough, i was predicted an A* and had a really bad exam day so i think i could still get the top grade if i had a second go without the stress of all those other gcses. that a-level news doesn't sound promising though :tongue:
Don't think you've definitely missed out on the A*.
Obviously nobody but yourself knows exactly how the exam went but Maths students (particularly in my school) are notorious for forgetting about method marks.
My AS C2 exam didn't go near as well as it could have (considering I was very confident) yet method marks helped quite a lot.

Should you miss out, you have two options

1) You can re-sit, partially interfering with your AS study
2) You can put in the work to get As in your AS modules. If you can get the top grade in the exams deemed harder than GCSE, I doubt anyone will care about the A.

I could splurt cliches about how an A is still a good grade - It is, but I understand you badly wanted the A*
Reply 7
Avatar for alpen
alpen
An A at GCSE isn't that bad honestly, this is coming from someone who got a B in GCSE and then A*A* in A-level Maths and Further Maths, A-level just suited me more and I worked harder!
Original post by Caitlan
Don't think you've definitely missed out on the A*.
Obviously nobody but yourself knows exactly how the exam went but Maths students (particularly in my school) are notorious for forgetting about method marks.
My AS C2 exam didn't go near as well as it could have (considering I was very confident) yet method marks helped quite a lot.

Should you miss out, you have two options

1) You can re-sit, partially interfering with your AS study
2) You can put in the work to get As in your AS modules. If you can get the top grade in the exams deemed harder than GCSE, I doubt anyone will care about the A.

I could splurt cliches about how an A is still a good grade - It is, but I understand you badly wanted the A*

this was really reassuring, thank you! unfortunately i have taken into account method marks and realised that the absolute maximum number of marks i could have got is 2 marks below the A* boundary which really sucks.

i'm definitely going to put in the work for my AS modules, but resitting the gcse doesn't require a great deal of extra revision, just a lot of calming my nerves as all xD so if i do miss out, i think a second attempt just to secure that A* will probably be what i do, provided the school lets me..
Original post by alpen
An A at GCSE isn't that bad honestly, this is coming from someone who got a B in GCSE and then A*A* in A-level Maths and Further Maths, A-level just suited me more and I worked harder!

dude, that's amazing!! :s-smilie: how on earth did you do that? i couldn't dream of doing that well at a-level, well done!
Reply 10
Avatar for alpen
alpen
Original post by tanyapotter
dude, that's amazing!! :s-smilie: how on earth did you do that? i couldn't dream of doing that well at a-level, well done!

I couldn't either tbh, I guess me and maths just clicked. I started doing the A-level and really enjoyed C1, but I started to get bored of C1 so I tried out FP1 and then from there my passion for maths just grew and grew and so I was never not motivated to work. I self taught further maths AS-level and got over 90% in all 3 units. You really just need a passion and the time to work hard on it to get good grades at A-level.
I'm afraid you're in a sticky situation, I don't mean to put you down or anything but A level maths is a massive step up from GCSE maths, if you found it hard to comfortably get an A* at GCSE then you will find it very difficult at A level especially further maths.
Original post by Jabberjay_
I'm afraid you're in a sticky situation, I don't mean to put you down or anything but A level maths is a massive step up from GCSE maths, if you found it hard to comfortably get an A* at GCSE then you will find it very difficult at A level especially further maths.

believe me, i know.
Original post by Jabberjay_
I'm afraid you're in a sticky situation, I don't mean to put you down or anything but A level maths is a massive step up from GCSE maths, if you found it hard to comfortably get an A* at GCSE then you will find it very difficult at A level especially further maths.


Basically. Depends why you didn't do so well, I guess.
Original post by Viva Emptiness
Basically. Depends why you didn't do so well, I guess.

i lost the bulk of my marks in B and C grade questions because i make the silliest of mistakes, but i find the A and A* ones really easy, if that helps? i focused my revision on the harder questions and did well on them in the exam, but since the exam was holistically very easy, i lost a lot of silly mistake marks, which absolutely sucks.
Reply 15
Avatar for alpen
alpen
Original post by tanyapotter
i lost the bulk of my marks in B and C grade questions because i make the silliest of mistakes, but i find the A and A* ones really easy, if that helps? i focused my revision on the harder questions and did well on them in the exam, but since the exam was holistically very easy, i lost a lot of silly mistake marks, which absolutely sucks.

Well that's a good sign then, because the majority of A-level questions are like GCSE A* questions onwards, so your ability at B/C grade topics shouldn't hinder you... especially if silly mistakes
Original post by alpen
Well that's a good sign then, because the majority of A-level questions are like GCSE A* questions onwards, so your ability at B/C grade topics shouldn't hinder you... especially if silly mistakes

yeah, hopefully this is the case! thank you.
Original post by tanyapotter
i'm taking maths and further maths for a-level and looking at the grade boundaries for gcse, i'm 99% certain i've just missed out on the A*. i was wondering if it's worth retaking it to get an A* and if it matters at all (because i would like top grades in subjects i'm doing at a-level, especially maths), or whether i should just leave it.


Wait till you get your results before you start worrying. Doing a retake will not be necessary if you have an A, come September you want to throw yourself into the A level course not worry about GCSE. Its the a levels that determine if you get into uni, GCSEs help and an A is not a bad grade
Tbh, if you were predicted an A* and your school will still let you take Maths and Further Maths to A level (which, if you're really close to the A* boundary and were predicted an A*, they should) no one really cares whether you got an A or an A* at GCSE. Universities will only really care about your AS grades and predicted A2 grades. So I don't think there'd be much point retaking the GCSE, because an A is a good grade either way and it won't actually have any impact on your future.
Reply 19
Avatar for sr234
sr234
13
I wanted an A* last year in maths but missed out by 4 UMS. You could always surprise yourself and end up with an A* but if not an A is still good.
I agree with alpen, I enjoyed AS level maths alot more and managed to get an high A at AS. GCSE's aren't everything. If you do get an A I wouldn't resit it:tongue:
(edited 9 years ago)

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