Opinions on A-Level Maths?

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Reply 40

Anon74

If you did a twin paired pilot gcse course, you shouldnt find it too hard, although im not sure how many people do them

Reply 41

Meg321

Original post by Kcash

Lit was a lot more of a struggle for me. Last year the aqa lit 1ac exam went terribly, I believe it was marked harshly. I ended up with a C overall. Retook that exam this year and managed to get an A overall. Coursework is worth 40% so that's really beneficial as you can then get b's in the exams and still achieve an A overall if you get over 90% in coursework.

Well done! Okay, I love the coursework for GCSE Language and Literature as it seems like it can boost my grade a lot, and I think its is 30/40% too, for my language course anyway, (I'm not sure because they have made us do lit and lang at the same time so its confusing). Thank you.

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Reply 42

CRW1996

One massive bit of advice I would give to you is don't only focus on core modules. The none core modules (stats, mechanics or decision) still decide a large amount of your grade and must be revised equally to the cores.

Reply 43

Meg321

Original post by Omghacklol

Year 12 FM Student who did A2 Maths early. It's REALLY, REALLY easy (non exag) if you make sure you understand the fundamental mathematics, rather than mechanically learn techniques, this is so important because after all A level maths isn't supposed to test you whether you can memorise formulae and simple methods (for C grade candidates it does) but test whether you can actually do maths in some new situations, so in every paper there will always be a few questions which catch those who only practice but fail to understand.

Looking at proofs of A level material, even if they are not provided by the teacher and are not technically in the syllabus, is the BEST way forward; it improves your maths and makes the actual questions seem like a joke once you understand fundamentally why a mathematical proposition is true.

Okay thank you for the heads up!

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Reply 44

Meg321

Original post by CRW1996

Okay thank you!

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Reply 45

buzzybee143

If you want your brain to explode then do it!
It sucks, but if you put enough time into practising question and spend so much time on examsolutins it becomes your favourite bookmark, you'll find it easy to get a good grade! So do it.

Reply 46

Meg321

Original post by Anon74

If you did a twin paired pilot gcse course, you shouldnt find it too hard, although im not sure how many people do them

No sadly I'm not doing that :c

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Reply 47

Molly_xox

I took it in desperation last year and it was the best decision I've ever made regarding my school career. It's tough and your grades will probably start off low (but that's the story for most subjects...) but if you just keep working and practising you'll find your 'eureka!' moment. I have a B this year (1 UMS off the A, combination of me not performing and high grade boundaries) but if you just work hard As shouldn't be too far out of reach. Good luck for Thursday! :smile:

Reply 48

ndunleavy

I just completed my A-level maths and achieved an A*. I have always enjoyed maths and loved my A-level. I would only recommend doing maths if you genuinely enjoy, or at least like, most of the subject. You will have to be prepared to put in the effort and work hard, but if you do you can get a great grade overall

Reply 49

RachAlexandrea

Just work and you will be fine. I just got my AS Level Result and I actually got an E. Even though I got an A* at GCSE (at GCSE I did both Maths-A* and Additional Maths-A). BUT with that said, I did all 6 modules in one year! It's what my school call 'Fast Track' maths. It for those who possibly want to take on Further maths in year 14. I just didn't do enough work and then as it got closer to the time so I found myself with a bit of a problem. I think if i did 3 modules in AS year like you would usually do I would have easily got an A because I generally did enjoy the subject. I just learned the hard way and have to repeat nearly all of my maths modules this year. But don't worry, the work really isn't that bad. It's just that I chose to do it all at once which isn't a good idea unless you are naturally gifted or actually put in a lot of effort.
I hope I didn't put you off! Please don't decide not to do it! It really is good! It was just my own fault :smile:

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 50

fightingduck

Original post by WishIHadRevised

I did OCR AS Maths and I got a C and I was predicted an A.

I thought I was going to get an A, I got an A* at GCSE and an A in further maths. One of my two teachers was absolute **** and as a result I got a low D in my stats module which brought down my grade.

Sounds cliché but:

1. Make sure you are good at maths to begin with
2. Make sure your teachers will be good.

And preferably don't do the statistics module unless you're a robot imao

Just being honest and that's how I feel!

My statistics teacher was useless too!!!!
The lessons she taught were just a waste of time, no one learnt anything by the end of them!

Reply 51

loperdoper

I've just finished AS OCR MEI maths with Decision 1 (got a B), and I loved it. I only took it because it was advised to take with physics (which I ended up hating).

My mental maths skills and a lot of my understanding of higher GCSE maths concepts were very poor, so I struggled with Core 1 at first (I had taken my GCSE maths grade up from a C to an A over the course of my yr 11, so I learnt a lot of it very quickly and not in depth, which I suffered for). But, through practise it begins to make sense. I found Core 2 a lot easier as I was learning it afresh, rather than relying on previous knowledge. And Decision 1 was really simple, although the exam can be very hit and miss (sadly, this year it was a miss for me, I managed to do mocks where I was getting 68/72 and such)

It's a very worthy subject to take, and my advice would be to do as many past papers as you can, ideally all of them. One boy in my class didn't do any, and when it came to a mock about a month before the exam, he got 7/72 on Core 1. The exams are very formulaic, and it's a mix of knowing the content and knowing the exam.

Reply 52

Handles

I took A-level Maths mainly because it applied to both subject areas I was considering for degrees at the time: design and economics. At the start of the year, I wasn't great, and this led to me not completing work on time and getting into a bit of a pickle. My teacher ended up having a bit of a go at me (which had never happened to me before and genuinely scared me) telling me that I needed to pick up my game and start doing the work on time. At the end of the first half-term, I was predicted an E.

Thankfully, I managed to climb back up to a B by February, and by Easter, an A. I started doing past papers in February, averaging around a B, but once I got into March I was almost always on an A. Finally, by about April, I was average around 90 UMS, which was more than good enough for me. I ended up getting an A for AS.

Basically, you need to put the effort in, and make sure to make notes on how to do everything so you can go back and check when you're stuck. I finally managed to get the hang of things around March, and now I don't find the subject to troublesome. Just try and do all of the past papers to about 2008, preferably doing some twice, and you should be fine. :smile:

So I definitely recommend it. Even if you only take it to AS, it can be an incredibly useful qualification to have - I only wish I'd chosen another facilitating subject for my fourth AS (I took Product Design).

Original post by CRW1996

Hear, hear. If there's one thing I regret (apart from not putting enough effort in in September/October), it's that I didn't do enough revision for M1. The issue was that I thought it was easier than Core Maths at the start of the year, so I didn't realise how tough the M1 exam would be. (I got a U in my mock, but thankfully a B in the exam.)

Reply 53

WishIHadRevised

Original post by fightingduck

My statistics teacher was useless too!!!!
The lessons she taught were just a waste of time, no one learnt anything by the end of them!

Haha did you have Mrs. Beasley? This girl in my class didn't turn up for most of the lessons and ended up getting 4 UMS worse than me... the same grade. I just wish I'd said something and changed my teacher. :frown:

What did you end up getting??

Reply 54

SamTheMan95

AS Maths is spectacularly easy and equally boring. I got 100, 97 and 77 in C1, C2 and S1 and this is a guy who got a U in every test till Christmas abd was advised to jack it in and do Use of Maths instead.
A2 Maths requires more focus as its very easy making a huge mistake during a 8 mark volumes of revolution, vector, quotient rule question. Its where the tricky stuff comes in and you'd do well to put a lot of hours studying key concepts but it also makes it alot more enjoyable. I made the fatal error of taking it easy this year. (Don't do the same :biggrin:

)

If you're not naturally gifted at maths then you're just going to have to fake it and put some hours in like I did. I finished up with an A at the and don't see why you can't.

PS. Getting one of those 8 markers correct is orgasmic.
PPS. Examsolutions will be your new best friend for the next 2 years. :tongue:

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 55

ArabianPhoenix

I did A level maths and after having a pretty **** AS i turned it around at A2 and got an A, can't say the same about my other subjects lol. I think most importantly you need to enjoy the subject and don't fall behind at all! I'd also recommend Mymaths ^_^

Lov vvvv vvvvv e it

Original post by Meg321

Looking at taking Maths at A-Level and I would like to hear how people find it and if they did well etc.

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I wouldn't say I've 'enjoyed' AS Maths but it's been okay. I actually cried on the way home after my C2 exam because it was quite traumatising. I was honestly just hoping I'd get at least a D but I got my results last week and I actually got quite a high A in it! I'll be predicted an A* for A2. I think anyone with an A in GCSE maths will be able to get quite a good mark in A Level maths. Many people find it hard but if you're willing to put in the work and do lots of past papers you should be fine.

Reply 58

Cookie_m14

Original post by Meg321

Looking at taking Maths at A-Level and I would like to hear how people find it and if they did well etc.

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I've just finished A Levels and I'm off to Imperial in October, I did Maths (A*) and Further Maths (A) and would just like to point out a few things I think you should consider:

1) What do you want to do in the future in terms of a job/university course?
For most universities to do: Physics, Chemistry, Maths, Engineering, Economics, Accounting, Computing and many others you wouldn't think need it, specify Mathematics as a requirement.

If you have a rough idea of what you want to do, have a look at a few random Russell Group universities requirements for courses you might be interested in.

2) Are you good at maths? If you got like a D at GCSE then unless you were messing around, I would question if you could get a decent grade at A Level.

3) Do you like Maths?

4) Maths is fundamental for many other subjects, so will make other subjects easier. Whether that's titration calculations in Chemistry, rearranging Physics formulas, etc.

5) Finding out that other people have done well in Maths will in no way guarantee that you will do well. You will sit the exam, not them.

Out of curiosity, what other A Levels are you thinking of taking?

Reply 59

samboJ

Definitely retake C1 and C2 in year 13 for extra UMS regardless of your previous score. I went up from 70 to 85 in C1 and 80 to 99 in C2 through minimal revision of C1 / C2. C3 and C4 make C1 and C2 look like a piece of cake.