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Could I get A* in maths?

I know some people will say this question cannot be answered and to an extent that is true but I want to know what people think about my chances of getting an A* at a level maths.

I would say I'm decent at maths but am by no means naturally gifted. I have done my igcse and am hoping for an A* but it would be a scrape and I quite possibly could get an A. I work hard and go to a good school, what are my chances of getting A* at a level?

Any thoughts appreciated


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Reply 1

Cliche but...practice. I'd much have to sweat everyday for 2 hours, than feeling like a failure during (and after) an exam.

One the most common reason for losing marks is 'stupid mistakes'....be clinical, don't rush.

Your chances are above average based on what you have said, in my opinion.
Reply 3
Yes. A level maths is easy.
Reply 4
Original post by TheIrrational
Your chances are above average based on what you have said, in my opinion.


What's your reasoning behind that?


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Original post by Don Joiner
I know some people will say this question cannot be answered and to an extent that is true but I want to know what people think about my chances of getting an A* at a level maths.

I would say I'm decent at maths but am by no means naturally gifted. I have done my igcse and am hoping for an A* but it would be a scrape and I quite possibly could get an A. I work hard and go to a good school, what are my chances of getting A* at a level?

Any thoughts appreciated


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This link will be very useful (go to page 25).
You have a 30% chance of getting an A* at the A Level if you got an A* at GCSE and a 4% chance of getting an A* at the A Level if you got an A at GCSE.You can probably use these statistics to work out how likely you are to get an A* at A Level based on your UMS/raw mark I would say that the average A* mark would be low 90s%(maybe 92% or 93%) as most people scrape the grade so you could work it out from there the % earning an A* at A Level seems to grow exponentially as GCSE grade rises, the better you do at GCSE the greater the chance you will get an A* at A Level
Original post by Don Joiner
What's your reasoning behind that?


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The average person won't be going in with a (predicted) A* in iGCSE or/and go to a good school I wouldn't think.
Reply 7
Original post by Dalek1099
This link will be very useful (go to page 25).
You have a 30% chance of getting an A* at the A Level if you got an A* at GCSE and a 4% chance of getting an A* at the A Level if you got an A at GCSE.You can probably use these statistics to work out how likely you are to get an A* at A Level based on your UMS/raw mark I would say that the average A* mark would be low 90s%(maybe 92% or 93%) as most people scrape the grade so you could work it out from there the % earning an A* at A Level seems to grow exponentially as GCSE grade rises, the better you do at GCSE the greater the chance you will get an A* at A Level


Wow that's really interesting, so if you get A* at GCSE you have a 72% chance of getting an A/A* at a level - that seems pretty good!


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Reply 8
Original post by Don Joiner
I know some people will say this question cannot be answered and to an extent that is true but I want to know what people think about my chances of getting an A* at a level maths.

I would say I'm decent at maths but am by no means naturally gifted. I have done my igcse and am hoping for an A* but it would be a scrape and I quite possibly could get an A. I work hard and go to a good school, what are my chances of getting A* at a level?

Any thoughts appreciated


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Which IGCSE exam did you give? Maths A or B?
Reply 9
Original post by aymanzayedmannan
Which IGCSE exam did you give? Maths A or B?


It was the edexcel igcse which has 3H and 4H which I think is the hardest variant


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Reply 10
Forget about chances, just do loads of questions until you have a gigantic pile of papers and books.

I got a B in GCSE Maths (definitely not natural gifted and I have no talent in Maths), and though I hated Maths I decided to do both Maths and Further Maths. At first my grades were below average and kept getting U's, yet I put huge time in practicing and done every single past paper twiceand even started doing other exam board past papers. Days before the exam I've managed to achieve above 90% easily.

So if you want an A* then start working harder than everyone else early.
Original post by kkboyk
Forget about chances, just do loads of questions until you have a gigantic pile of papers and books.

I got a B in GCSE Maths (definitely not natural gifted and I have no talent in Maths), and though I hated Maths I decided to do both Maths and Further Maths. At first my grades were below average and kept getting U's, yet I put huge time in practicing and done every single past paper twiceand even started doing other exam board past papers. Days before the exam I've managed to achieve above 90% easily.

So if you want an A* then start working harder than everyone else early.

When did you start past papers for AS/A2?
Original post by Don Joiner
I know some people will say this question cannot be answered and to an extent that is true but I want to know what people think about my chances of getting an A* at a level maths.

I would say I'm decent at maths but am by no means naturally gifted. I have done my igcse and am hoping for an A* but it would be a scrape and I quite possibly could get an A. I work hard and go to a good school, what are my chances of getting A* at a level?

Any thoughts appreciated


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I got an A in GCSE maths. I will have A*A* in A level maths and further maths this summer
Reply 13
Original post by vd12345
When did you start past papers for AS/A2?


I started around March and April. Before that, I spent most of my time doing topic based exercise.
Original post by kkboyk
I started around March and April. Before that, I spent most of my time doing topic based exercise.


Is it bad I'm starting c1 past papers this weekend for AS?
Reply 15
Original post by vd12345
Is it bad I'm starting c1 past papers this weekend for AS?


If you understand all topics, then there's no problem.
Original post by kkboyk
If you understand all topics, then there's no problem.


I guess I should, since i've nearly finished the c1 textbook :smile:
Did you do maths and fm?
If so, what was the timing like for each module?
How many modules did you do in year 12 and 13?
Reply 17
Original post by vd12345
I guess I should, since i've nearly finished the c1 textbook :smile:
Did you do maths and fm?
If so, what was the timing like for each module?
How many modules did you do in year 12 and 13?


Yes I do. You do 3 modules for each A level Maths including additional further maths. The timing for every exam is 1hr 30min, I tend to finish within the first 30-40mins of each core modules, and then go through the paper 3x to ensure I got each answer correctly.
Original post by kkboyk
Yes I do. You do 3 modules for each A level Maths including additional further maths. The timing for every exam is 1hr 30min, I tend to finish within the first 30-40mins of each core modules, and then go through the paper 3x to ensure I got each answer correctly.


What i meant by timing is how long did it take to learn each module at school?
Like which modules did you learn by december, january, march, etc

And some people do all 6 maths modules in y12, and 6 fm modules in y13, so i was wondering how your school did it
Reply 19
Original post by Dalek1099
This link will be very useful (go to page 25).
You have a 30% chance of getting an A* at the A Level if you got an A* at GCSE and a 4% chance of getting an A* at the A Level if you got an A at GCSE.You can probably use these statistics to work out how likely you are to get an A* at A Level based on your UMS/raw mark I would say that the average A* mark would be low 90s%(maybe 92% or 93%) as most people scrape the grade so you could work it out from there the % earning an A* at A Level seems to grow exponentially as GCSE grade rises, the better you do at GCSE the greater the chance you will get an A* at A Level


Ouch 30%? That's ridiculous. It would be helpful if the GCSE were any good but so many people struggle to pass as it is. But in its current state it's pretty useless for A level content wise.

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