Year 11 (Maths) - Study options

Hello guys,

Congratulations to everyone who got their GCSE & A-Level Results last month. I took GCSE Maths in Year 10 and got an A* and now I've been asked to choose something to do next year.
I have been recommended AS Level Maths (Edexcel) to take in Year 11, bearing in mind I have to take 9 other GCSEs next summer too. I used to be very addicted to games and play them all day, but now I seem to be playing them less around 1 hour a day on school days and usually revise for 2-3 hours on a school day.
I got 176/200 marks in the exam so my school is insisting I take something difficult as they think I'm capable of doing AS Level Maths in Year 11.
I will have to ask if I'm going to be put into a Year 12 class so I can learn AS Level Maths in class - which is extremely unlikely as I have no free periods in my timetable.
I'm quite good at Physics (decent) but have heard M1 is the hardest optional module to choose from.
My brother will be able to teach me whatever course I take, once a week only.

I have a few questions regarding AS Level Maths:
- How long would it take to learn C1 and C2 (like self-learn)?
- Which optional module would be the easiest to learn (M1, S1 or D1)?
- Should I take AS Level Maths in Year 11?

I've got the choice of taking (Further Maths Level 2 GCSE - AQA, FMSQ (Additional Maths - OCR) and I'm going to be asking if I can take Further Pure Mathematics iGCSE (Edexcel). I'm deciding to take FMSQ or hopefully Further Pure Mathematics iGCSE as an alternative if I don't take AS Level Maths.

I might take Statistics GCSE if I'm allowed too but that seems to be easy.

Hey there.

Well, if you do GCSE further Maths C1 is easy (I didn't but it's pretty straightforward anyways). C2 is not hard, actually it's self teachable as there are not hard topics.

Usually D1 is the easiest (I haven't done it), people say is the easiest to gain marks, therefore silly mistakes will cost you grades I guess. S1 is alright, I did struggle at the beginning but past papers were the reason why I got an A. However, if you like physics and all, you might enjoy M1. I was getting As and Bs but during the exam i panicked and lost bunch of marks.

The key is doing past papers and understand your mistakes! Hope it helped

If you found getting A* at gcse maths easy, I think you should find C1 and C2 easy. The only new thing in C1 is calculus, everything else is just recap. C2 is slightly harder than C1 but both are significantly easier than C3 and C4. D1 is the easiest applied unit however if you're only taking a level maths not a level further maths, then you only need 2 applied units and a lot of unis don't view D1 as as good as M1 or S1 unless you want to take courses related to computer programming. S1 is easier than M1, although if you find physics easy M1 shouldn't be too hard.

Personally, in year 11 I took Further Maths level 2 gcse and found it fine however I was being taught it in a class with others as a timetabled lesson. gcse statistics is what people took at my school who weren't going to do A level maths so I would say thats not worth doing.

You should also consider the Edexcel Maths Awards. There is Level 3 Algebra and Level 3 Statistical Methods, there are also Level 2 qualifications but these would be too easy. Algebra is what is being used in my school for people in your position and it might be worth looking at to take in January, as it covers many of the topics in C1 and some in C2, and then doing A level/Further Maths in June. I wouldn't worry that much about the Year 12 class, most of the stuff I have seen in the Level 3 Algebra can be self taught, and I imagine you could do the same with at least C1 and C2.

I would be interested to hear any other responses to this thread as I may be studying an extra course alongside GCSE maths in Year 11, not A level though.

To be honest, I found getting the A* pretty easy but I felt this paper was just a bit difficult but I thought I had got somewhere between 157-162 marks but I was always taking off marks for working out. In the exam, I actually got 176 marks because the working out was perfect.
I want to take D1 only because it's the easiest one and I might actually get a decent grade in it, like an A. Otherwise, it would be S1 - but I think I'd manage if I really put the effort in. I want to also have timetabled lessons on it which is what I'll be asking for on Monday as it'll make life much easier.
Regarding the Statistics GCSE, I just want to take that as an extra GCSE it is not an option instead of AS Level Maths.

Just thought I'd warn you about D1 now instead of having to find out several years later when you apply to uni although if your doing AS maths in year 11, you'll probably do at least AS further as well and end up doing all applied units eventually. D1 is easy in the sense that the questions are basic, it's like taking simple things like putting numbers in order and doing them with an algorithm like a computer would. It's easy to make stupid mistakes though. Personally I found S1 easier (got 100ums in S1, 93ums in D1) but if you asked anyone else in my class they'd say D1 is easier. Although if are going to do gcse statistics alongside it, maybe S1 would be the most sensible applied to do.

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