What is it with all these people doing A level maths in Year 10?

I'm currently in Year 11, and I want to do Mathematics at degree level, preferably at one of the better universities like Cambridge, Imperial or Warwick.

It's discouraging, to say the least, to see posts in which people state that they are doing or have in some cases finished A level Maths, before I've even started it ! There are many people who were never given the opportunity to do anything beyond GCSE Maths, and have been bored to death by it, but have had to endure it until the end of Year 11.

It actually makes me feel inadequate for a Maths degree, and it worries me that these people will comprise a considerable part of the competition for Maths at some of the more prestigious Unis.

Is there anyone on TSR, who now attends one of these Universities, and didn't do GCSE Maths in Year 8, before completing Further Maths in Year 11? It might inject a bit of confidence into me...

In my high school, those who achieved level 8 in their year 9 SATS, did there As maths early alongside their GCSE maths.

Actually universities discourage this. From Cam website

Qualifications taken early

'We are, of course, in favour of stretching and challenging learners, but not at the expense of levels of achievement. Thus, we would discourage schools and colleges from entering their students early for public examinations unless they are very confident that top grades will be obtained. A grade B in a AS Level taken in Year 11 is still a B in our eyes; it is not equivalent to an A in the same qualification taken in Year 12. Where students are successfully taking qualifications early, we would still want to see evidence that they can cope with a workload equivalent to three A Levels taken simultaneously.

We must also highlight the potential disadvantages of taking A Levels early in subjects where the knowledge and understanding will be required at university. Students who have not studied a key subject in a structured way the year before they arrive at university can find that their knowledge, all-important to some undergraduate courses, has atrophied. A good example of this would be a student studying a maths-based course like Mathematics or Engineering whose maths has become rusty during a pre-university year in which maths has not been systematically done.

If a school is looking for ways to stretch its most able students in Year 11, we would strongly recommend that they encourage students to read widely around the subjects that interest them. This might be facilitated by the provision of appropriate reading lists or even material; and appropriate follow-up, for instance via a discussion group, should help develop the sort of analytical thinking and intellectual flexibility that we look for in applicants - and which is central to success at university.

Another way in which they might consider stretching their most able students in Year 11 is via Critical Thinking AS Level. This may develop students' thinking in a way GCSEs do not, and, as we do not include Critical Thinking in conditional offers, there is no risk associated with taking this qualification early: a lower grade will not damage an applicant's profile.'

I'm currently in Year 11, and I want to do Mathematics at degree level, preferably at one of the better universities like Cambridge, Imperial or Warwick.

It's discouraging, to say the least, to see posts in which people state that they are doing or have in some cases finished A level Maths, before I've even started it ! There are many people who were never given the opportunity to do anything beyond GCSE Maths, and have been bored to death by it, but have had to endure it until the end of Year 11.

It actually makes me feel inadequate for a Maths degree, and it worries me that these people will comprise a considerable part of the competition for Maths at some of the more prestigious Unis.

Is there anyone on TSR, who now attends one of these Universities, and didn't do GCSE Maths in Year 8, before completing Further Maths in Year 11? It might inject a bit of confidence into me...

Actually universities discourage this. From Cam website

Qualifications taken early

'We are, of course, in favour of stretching and challenging learners, but not at the expense of levels of achievement. Thus, we would discourage schools and colleges from entering their students early for public examinations unless they are very confident that top grades will be obtained. A grade B in a AS Level taken in Year 11 is still a B in our eyes; it is not equivalent to an A in the same qualification taken in Year 12. Where students are successfully taking qualifications early, we would still want to see evidence that they can cope with a workload equivalent to three A Levels taken simultaneously.

We must also highlight the potential disadvantages of taking A Levels early in subjects where the knowledge and understanding will be required at university. Students who have not studied a key subject in a structured way the year before they arrive at university can find that their knowledge, all-important to some undergraduate courses, has atrophied. A good example of this would be a student studying a maths-based course like Mathematics or Engineering whose maths has become rusty during a pre-university year in which maths has not been systematically done.

If a school is looking for ways to stretch its most able students in Year 11, we would strongly recommend that they encourage students to read widely around the subjects that interest them. This might be facilitated by the provision of appropriate reading lists or even material; and appropriate follow-up, for instance via a discussion group, should help develop the sort of analytical thinking and intellectual flexibility that we look for in applicants - and which is central to success at university.

Another way in which they might consider stretching their most able students in Year 11 is via Critical Thinking AS Level. This may develop students' thinking in a way GCSEs do not, and, as we do not include Critical Thinking in conditional offers, there is no risk associated with taking this qualification early: a lower grade will not damage an applicant's profile.'

Also, I've been given the chance to study Critical Thinking AS in year 12, but have declined it. Is there much point taking it?

I'm going to Oxford this coming year to do Maths and Computer Science. Did my Maths GCSE in Years 10 and 11, as usual. Got an offer of AAA from Oxford with A's in my three A2 subjects, Maths, Further Maths and Physics. (Showing you don't need 4 subjects like the head of maths at my college told me).

My friend did his Maths AS level in Year 11, achieved an A in his overall Maths A level in Year 12. He's in A2 and does Further Maths, Chemistry and Physics. He has an offer from Cambridge, which doesn't count his Maths qualification at all. He needs A*AA with A* in Further Maths, A in Chemistry and Physics.

So yeah, for him it was a disadvantage to do it early.

Just to summarise some already said things; it appears that you should only take a level maths early only if you can guarentee yourself an A, otherwise it will prove disadvantageous on the behalf of your profile if anything.

I wouldn't say you are at a disadvantage at all, people doing it must put equal effort into their a levels, the offer from whichever uni does not encompass already achieved ones it would seem ~

I might just decide to learn C1 + C2 over the summer. The pace of maths lessons in school has always been quite slow. We can whizz through questions, but we're not given any more challenging ones, usually; the most challenging questions have never required much thought, which defeats their purpose. I actually can't stand maths lessons anymore - I've done something like 20 GCSE past papers (which take about 25 minutes each ie. not the 1h45m on the front) and my teacher keeps giving me more.