Is further maths only for the naturally gifted
I consider myself "decent" at maths. I'm sort of an A/A* border person in maths GCSE, I get all the concepts but sometimes takes me a while to get them but once I do they're fine
Just wondering if I'd be able to do further maths and get an A at a level, do you know of people who weren't naturally AMAZING at maths but who were decent and worked really hard and did well?
Or is further maths only possible to get an A in if you're naturally great at maths and you easily breeze through GCSE maths getting 99/100%?
Replies appreciated
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Just wondering if I'd be able to do further maths and get an A at a level, do you know of people who weren't naturally AMAZING at maths but who were decent and worked really hard and did well?
Or is further maths only possible to get an A in if you're naturally great at maths and you easily breeze through GCSE maths getting 99/100%?
Replies appreciated
Posted from TSR Mobile
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Original post by Don Joiner
I consider myself "decent" at maths. I'm sort of an A/A* border person in maths GCSE, I get all the concepts but sometimes takes me a while to get them but once I do they're fine
Just wondering if I'd be able to do further maths and get an A at a level, do you know of people who weren't naturally AMAZING at maths but who were decent and worked really hard and did well?
Or is further maths only possible to get an A in if you're naturally great at maths and you easily breeze through GCSE maths getting 99/100%?
Replies appreciated
Posted from TSR Mobile
Just wondering if I'd be able to do further maths and get an A at a level, do you know of people who weren't naturally AMAZING at maths but who were decent and worked really hard and did well?
Or is further maths only possible to get an A in if you're naturally great at maths and you easily breeze through GCSE maths getting 99/100%?
Replies appreciated
Posted from TSR Mobile
Yes, it certainly is possible and I know people who are/weren't naturally gifted but still got an A in FM with hard work
Original post by midgemeister7
Yes, it certainly is possible and I know people who are/weren't naturally gifted but still got an A in FM with hard work
Do you know what % they got at GCSE? And what did they get at a level?
Thanks for the reply
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Original post by Don Joiner
Do you know what % they got at GCSE? And what did they get at a level?
Thanks for the reply
Posted from TSR Mobile
Thanks for the reply
Posted from TSR Mobile
Pfff I can't remember off the top off my head I'm afraid, but I know some definitely didn't get A*s at GCSE.
Original post by Don Joiner
I consider myself "decent" at maths. I'm sort of an A/A* border person in maths GCSE, I get all the concepts but sometimes takes me a while to get them but once I do they're fine
Just wondering if I'd be able to do further maths and get an A at a level, do you know of people who weren't naturally AMAZING at maths but who were decent and worked really hard and did well?
Or is further maths only possible to get an A in if you're naturally great at maths and you easily breeze through GCSE maths getting 99/100%?
Replies appreciated
Posted from TSR Mobile
Just wondering if I'd be able to do further maths and get an A at a level, do you know of people who weren't naturally AMAZING at maths but who were decent and worked really hard and did well?
Or is further maths only possible to get an A in if you're naturally great at maths and you easily breeze through GCSE maths getting 99/100%?
Replies appreciated
Posted from TSR Mobile
It really depends, and I think it's primarily down to the amount of work you put in. As long as you don't go in with the assumption "ah, I got an A* GCSE this will be a doddle" you should be able to do pretty well.
If the worst comes to the worst, make sure you're able to drop it end of year 12 I guess
Further Maths is not for the naturally gifted and talented. The only difference is that you may need to do a bit more work in comparison to someone that enjoys it. And if you are consistently achieving A's/A*s and you say you are, then you should be fine. With a person of your abilities you have nothing to worry about. Just make sure that when you start the A-Level just make sure that you don't fall behind on topics and try to read ahead where possible.
Original post by Gott
The rule is people who do maths can just do it
No
The rule is people who work hard at things get better at them
Obviously some people are more gifted than others, but this divide you imply between "people who can do maths" and "people who can't do maths" doesn't exist
OP: Further Maths sounds it would be a good choice for you, provided you enjoy Maths
(edited 9 years ago)
From my experience. I breezed through GCSE's, stupidly putting in no effort. Got A* in Maths GCSE in year 10 (about 90% so not awful) but I'm certainly naturally gifted. And I'm getting an A with ease (by that I mean no revision required) in AS Further Maths so far, so yeah. Everyone in my year still left (yes some got kicked off/ couldn't cope) has A* in Maths GCSE. Maybe a couple A's. My experience of lower end mathematicians is that if you do physics a level, Further Maths a level will definitely be a lot easier and very possible for most people to get an A.
Original post by Don Joiner
I consider myself "decent" at maths. I'm sort of an A/A* border person in maths GCSE, I get all the concepts but sometimes takes me a while to get them but once I do they're fine
Just wondering if I'd be able to do further maths and get an A at a level, do you know of people who weren't naturally AMAZING at maths but who were decent and worked really hard and did well?
Or is further maths only possible to get an A in if you're naturally great at maths and you easily breeze through GCSE maths getting 99/100%?
Replies appreciated
Just wondering if I'd be able to do further maths and get an A at a level, do you know of people who weren't naturally AMAZING at maths but who were decent and worked really hard and did well?
Or is further maths only possible to get an A in if you're naturally great at maths and you easily breeze through GCSE maths getting 99/100%?
Replies appreciated
Nope, you can certainly get through FP1 without any problems, I've heard many people say that it's easier C2 and I kind of agree. But you will have to work a lot if you're planning to continue it to A2, since FP2 is really different and you do need to do more applied modules. What I recommend you do, is practice algebra in the summer; most people struggle with further not because of the calculus or the concepts, it's because of the algebra, which is poorly taught in schools for some reason.
I'm taking further maths right now and I will say that it is definitely not just those that are "naturally gifted". In fact, I believe there is no such thing. Further maths is for people who enjoy maths and want to work hard at it. It is a lot more work and some of the later modules (specifically FP3) are very difficult to get your head round. But even someone who is naturally gifted would not just 'pick up' things like group theory.
If you enjoy it, do it! Everyone I know doing it is not naturally gifted but a hard working, passionate individual.
If you enjoy it, do it! Everyone I know doing it is not naturally gifted but a hard working, passionate individual.
No. I'm decent at maths, but I'm hardly naturally gifted. I got an A* at GCSE, but I worked quite hard to do so, more revision than any of my other GCSE's. I now do Maths and FM, and the AS levels are really quite simple.
The A2 modules are harder, as I found that last year, I would simply get things, whereas in year 13 I'm taking a noticeable amount more time to get my head around some concepts in FP2 and FP3.
What you haven't taken into account OP, is that you find that your ability to learn improves, not just your knowledge which means eventually you'll be able to cope with FM quite well.
The A2 modules are harder, as I found that last year, I would simply get things, whereas in year 13 I'm taking a noticeable amount more time to get my head around some concepts in FP2 and FP3.
What you haven't taken into account OP, is that you find that your ability to learn improves, not just your knowledge which means eventually you'll be able to cope with FM quite well.
Original post by alexjackson1711
I'm taking further maths right now and I will say that it is definitely not just those that are "naturally gifted". In fact, I believe there is no such thing. Further maths is for people who enjoy maths and want to work hard at it. It is a lot more work and some of the later modules (specifically FP3) are very difficult to get your head round. But even someone who is naturally gifted would not just 'pick up' things like group theory.
If you enjoy it, do it! Everyone I know doing it is not naturally gifted but a hard working, passionate individual.
If you enjoy it, do it! Everyone I know doing it is not naturally gifted but a hard working, passionate individual.
No, but some people certainly pick up group theory significantly more quickly than others.
Original post by Don Joiner
I consider myself "decent" at maths. I'm sort of an A/A* border person in maths GCSE, I get all the concepts but sometimes takes me a while to get them but once I do they're fine
Just wondering if I'd be able to do further maths and get an A at a level, do you know of people who weren't naturally AMAZING at maths but who were decent and worked really hard and did well?
Or is further maths only possible to get an A in if you're naturally great at maths and you easily breeze through GCSE maths getting 99/100%?
Replies appreciated
Posted from TSR Mobile
Just wondering if I'd be able to do further maths and get an A at a level, do you know of people who weren't naturally AMAZING at maths but who were decent and worked really hard and did well?
Or is further maths only possible to get an A in if you're naturally great at maths and you easily breeze through GCSE maths getting 99/100%?
Replies appreciated
Posted from TSR Mobile
I just finished self-studying FP4 after doing FP1-3. FP1 is easy, just slightly harder than C2 I think. FP2-4 are much more difficult to learn.
Definitely in the first year there were a lot of people who weren't gifted at maths, but only people who are gifted in some way took it to A2. People who are really good take it further ie. additional.
Original post by joe12345marc
I breezed through GCSE's,
putting in no effort. Got A*
I'm certainly naturally gifted.
getting an A with ease
I breezed through GCSE's,
putting in no effort. Got A*
I'm certainly naturally gifted.
getting an A with ease
Haha have you been to the STEP lessons at Cambridge yet ?
At my school, those with an A* at GCSE got between 230-300 out of 300 at AS. That's between a high B to an A. Those with an A at GCSE got anywhere between 110 and 250 - a U to scraping an A. Most of those that did further maths at a2 had excellent GCSE percentages.
Sure hard work can compensate to some extent but are you willing to put in that effort just to keep up?
Sure hard work can compensate to some extent but are you willing to put in that effort just to keep up?
Original post by Adipoptosis
At my school, those with an A* at GCSE got between 230-300 out of 300 at AS. That's between a high B to an A. Those with an A at GCSE got anywhere between 110 and 250 - a U to scraping an A. Most of those that did further maths at a2 had excellent GCSE percentages.
Sure hard work can compensate to some extent but are you willing to put in that effort just to keep up?
Sure hard work can compensate to some extent but are you willing to put in that effort just to keep up?
I just missed an A* at GCSE and got 293 UMS in further maths AS. And those 7 UMS were stupid mistakes made in D1.
I'm now doing further maths A2 and usually get 100% in FP2 mocks. I'm also self studying FP3-4 and doing well in that. It's not all about the GCSE grade.
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