The Student Room Group

Mathematics/Physics education: where do I start?

Hi all,

Due to a number of unfortunate events related to mental health and absolutely crazy parents, my education ended in 1999 with three awful A-level results and a year of an electrical engineering degree. I managed to spend the last 16 years ducking and diving in the IT industry avoiding being questioned about the above.

So, I have fixed the initial issues I had finally. My interest was sparked a couple of years ago in the form of a volume of books given to me as a present (Feynman's Lectures in Physics) but bar the basics they are way beyond my level of understanding. Every page leads down a rabbit hole full of further questions. Now I've picked up a fair amount of stuff but never invested in anything concrete or structured.

So, education is the answer. However, I'm at a complete loss as to where to start. I compared my old A-level mathematics textbooks to the current generation's ones and found nothing but pages of glorious calculus spewing from them. We barely touched an integral or a derivative back then. The same with physics. The stuff I did back in the mid 1990s was primitive compared to this.

This leaves the question; is it worth doing these two A-levels again if that is even possible as a foundation or should I just jump into OU on the Mathematics and Physics track? Or is there a third option I don't know? Cost and time are non-issues for me at the moment thanks to a wonderful employer so I need to take advantage of it now.

Any help appreciated!
Hey, first of all most Universities won't accept an access to higher education diploma for these subjects. I don't know enough about open uni pathways, but someone else might be able to give you some good advice. If you're really interested in maths or physics your best bet (in my opinion) is the pay the huge fee by high fee I mean take out a 24+ loan and enrol back into a local college taking maths, further maths and physics a-levels. Maths and further maths will give you a strong grounding to work with, and try to push for mechanics (m1, m2, and m3) modules for your maths exams as these will coincide with the physics a-level. However, you will need to know that this is a 2 year pathway and all the exams will now be at the end of your 2nd year which will only be a nightmare!
Sorry I can't be much more help for you, but all the best man.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by whiffwaff
Hi all,

Due to a number of unfortunate events related to mental health and absolutely crazy parents, my education ended in 1999 with three awful A-level results and a year of an electrical engineering degree. I managed to spend the last 16 years ducking and diving in the IT industry avoiding being questioned about the above.

So, I have fixed the initial issues I had finally. My interest was sparked a couple of years ago in the form of a volume of books given to me as a present (Feynman's Lectures in Physics) but bar the basics they are way beyond my level of understanding. Every page leads down a rabbit hole full of further questions. Now I've picked up a fair amount of stuff but never invested in anything concrete or structured.

So, education is the answer. However, I'm at a complete loss as to where to start. I compared my old A-level mathematics textbooks to the current generation's ones and found nothing but pages of glorious calculus spewing from them. We barely touched an integral or a derivative back then. The same with physics. The stuff I did back in the mid 1990s was primitive compared to this.

This leaves the question; is it worth doing these two A-levels again if that is even possible as a foundation or should I just jump into OU on the Mathematics and Physics track? Or is there a third option I don't know? Cost and time are non-issues for me at the moment thanks to a wonderful employer so I need to take advantage of it now.

Any help appreciated!


I guess the first thing to think about is where you want to go with the education? Do you just want to update and improve your A-levels, or do you want to study to degree level and above?

As the above poster noted with A-levels changing, you have two choices do 2/3 A-levels on the old spec in one year (which will result in 12+ exams, plus practicals which are hard to arrange) OR start on the new spec and be forced to wait 2 years until you can gain your A-levels.

Access courses are an option, I really don't know how well accepted they are for physics/maths so the best thing to do would be to enquire with the university(ies) you're interested in about whether they'd consider it.

The OU is great, especially if you want to continue to work full time or part time. I know you say funding isn't an issue but to make you aware you have already used 1 year's higher education (HE) funding, and any OU years irrespective of the amount of credits studied) will also remove years from your HE entitlement if you then want to go on to study full time at a 'normal' uni.

I really wouldn't worry about just starting with the OU, the first year is GCSE-AS level with a sprinkling of A2 level in there so it is pretty basic. I think the OU can work for a lot of people, but to study physics you will have to study all the sciences in first year because I believe physics comes under the Nat Sci degree. So you will have to do a course called Exploring Science which includes biology, chemistry, physics, maths and geology. There is a dedicated OU Student Room page and there are people on there currently studying the maths/physics routes.
(edited 8 years ago)
I was accepted to two top 30 universities for physics after doing an access to science course. These courses are difficult primarily because of the pacing. They aim to cover the core parts of the A-level syllabus in 1 year.

I took all the maths, physics and chemistry. The physics assignments were a lot harder than what you're expected to do in an A-level physics exam but they weren't under exam conditions. So you don't need to remember everything like an A-level student does. Although the access course covers the majority of a level math topics, they aren't explored to anywhere near the depth you would need for a maths degree. The depth of math isn't even sufficient to do engineering or physics in my opinion. You are just taught methods with minimal theory to understand how to use the method.

Due to the lack of theory and non trivial questions in the maths, access students are at a disadvantage and top universities may be reluctant to accept them. This doesn't rule out the possibility of being accepted. If you provide some evidence of your capabilities then you may be accepted.

A top universities I spoke to required me to take a STEP paper in conjunction with the access course if I wanted to be accepted. I didn't do it. I would not have had enough time to understand it well enough to get a good grade. Nethertheless I was accepted to prestigious university. In my personal statement I demonstrated my understanding of the requirements of the degree course and how I would meet them. It's highly probable you will be rejected by every top 10 -15 ish university if you do an access course hoping to get into science or engineering unless you're exceptional.

I know people who have been accepted to Kings, Bristol and Queen Mary for science based courses from an access course. I know a few people that wished to do engineering but were prompted by universities to do the math A-level. The alternative was to apply to lower ranking universities. So my advice is to start going through the A level math syllabus. There is a website called examsolutions which covers most of it. Try to go through older math books with proofs if you want to take the maths route. If you want to take the physics route then a standard a level maths textbook should suffice.

If you're progressing well by the end of summer then see if you can do the math a level and a step paper the following year. If you do the math a level in combination with an access course then you will be more likely to get an offer from a good university for physics, math or engineering. Good luck.
(edited 8 years ago)
Following an Access to HE (engineering pathway) I had offers from Royal Holloway, Portsmouth and Southampton universities for physics (though Southampton would have required me to do a foundation year first). Surrey ignored my application completely, and have now removed Access from their list of acceptable qualifications. I know Durham also accept Access students onto their foundation year, and several of the London colleges accept Access for entry into year 1 of a BSc. I'm not sure about universities elsewhere in the country, as I was limited to my local area when I applied.

If you want to do Access, you will need to shop around to find a college that offers sufficient level 3 maths content, and then check with your target universities whether the qualification is acceptable for them. It's also worth looking into foundation years, as they will get your maths and physics up to an acceptable standard for starting the degree, and may be a more convenient step than taking A levels as a mature student.
My suggestion would be self taught a levels.

I did maths last year and there is so much inf out there videos/sites etc that as long as your disciplined you will be fine. Cost about £300 per a level. Note you can do international a levels which means you can take january exams which is a big bonus.

Following that you can either do uni or go the OU route or UoL do a maths and economics degree which would be a 5th of the price of a UNI and you dont need super awesome grades to get in.
Reply 6
Original post by Schadenfreude65
I know Durham also accept Access students onto their foundation year


Do you happen to have any more information of this? I'm curious to know what the rate of applications vs accepted applicants is for the physics foundation year.
Original post by SP195
Do you happen to have any more information of this? I'm curious to know what the rate of applications vs accepted applicants is for the physics foundation year.


One of the people who used to post here last year did Access to Science and was accepted onto Physics with foundation year at Durham. There is more information on their website, here: https://www.dur.ac.uk/courses/2016/info/?id=8381&title=Physics+with+Foundation&ucas-code=F302&degree=BSc&year=2016

I suggest that you email them with a brief description of your background and qualifications, and ask their advice about what steps you should take next. As you already have some university experience in a related field, maybe they will bypass the Access requirement. It's worth a try anyway.
Original post by SP195
Do you happen to have any more information of this? I'm curious to know what the rate of applications vs accepted applicants is for the physics foundation year.


I kind of had some experience, might be worth you reading http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2055250
Reply 9
Original post by TunaTunnel
I kind of had some experience, might be worth you reading http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2055250


Yes I have read that post before! Absolutely amazing. It was an emotional read for me.
Reply 10
Original post by Schadenfreude65
One of the people who used to post here last year did Access to Science and was accepted onto Physics with foundation year at Durham. There is more information on their website, here: https://www.dur.ac.uk/courses/2016/info/?id=8381&title=Physics+with+Foundation&ucas-code=F302&degree=BSc&year=2016

I suggest that you email them with a brief description of your background and qualifications, and ask their advice about what steps you should take next. As you already have some university experience in a related field, maybe they will bypass the Access requirement. It's worth a try anyway.


That is a great idea. I have so many questions I could ask. I see you on access related topics often, you have previously responded to a post I created too! Thank you for being so helpful.
Original post by SP195
That is a great idea. I have so many questions I could ask. I see you on access related topics often, you have previously responded to a post I created too! Thank you for being so helpful.


No problem. I've just finished first year of a physics degree, so feel free to ask any questions I may be able to help with.
Reply 12
Thanks for the information everyonel much appreciated. I'm collating what information I have and will think about it for a few days.

So far, it looks like the best solution for me is to hit the OU and do a plain mathematics degree. My employer is willing to fund this and provide the time to do this part time as well without a salary drop which is nice!

Objectively, what I wish to achieve from education is merely enlightenment and I'd like to contribute something back to the world one day.
(edited 8 years ago)

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