Can I do Maths A-Level with a B at GCSE

Title says it all really, but will add some background info!

So I got a B at GCSE in Maths. I was in the second set (next set up being the top), in which the teacher said that because we were the second set we expect everyone to ONLY achieve a B, to which they barely taught us anything harder than B grade. Which personally I thought was ridiculous but at the time I really did't care (definitely don't have that attitude now!)

I've always enjoyed maths and found it quite simple but when it came to sitting exams for GCSE Maths I didn't bother doing anything for it, I didn't do any past papers or practicing, I just went off of memory. I unfortunately had the same attitude towards my other GCSEs too and went off of memory.

Surprisingly I came out with some good GCSEs 10 A*-C, the most important for me being A* in Chemistry, History, A in Physics, Biology, B in Maths, these are the ones I'm considering for A-levels.

FYI - I have had to take 2 years out of education due to ill health and hence why I'm posting this in March and not sometime after results day :bigsmile:

Reply 1

waagh

9

Set 2 only aiming for a B? In my set 2 they tell us that we're pretty much set 1 but we can't have 60 people in a class can we?

typically for A-level you need A in maths but it depends on your college/sixth form. probably have to do an entrance test.

Reply 2

kkboyk

21

Original post by MrRobot

Title says it all really, but will add some background info!

So I got a B at GCSE in Maths. I was in the second set (next set up being the top), in which the teacher said that because we were the second set we expect everyone to ONLY achieve a B, to which they barely taught us anything harder than B grade. Which personally I thought was ridiculous but at the time I really did't care (definitely don't have that attitude now!)

I've always enjoyed maths and found it quite simple but when it came to sitting exams for GCSE Maths I didn't bother doing anything for it, I didn't do any past papers or practicing, I just went off of memory. I unfortunately had the same attitude towards my other GCSEs too and went off of memory.

Surprisingly I came out with some good GCSEs 10 A*-C, the most important for me being A* in Chemistry, History, A in Physics, Biology, B in Maths, these are the ones I'm considering for A-levels.

FYI - I have had to take 2 years out of education due to ill health and hence why I'm posting this in March and not sometime after results day :bigsmile:

I got a B in GCSE Maths, was in set 3/4, didn't revise currently doing Further Maths and Maths at A2 (plus I applied for a Maths degree). If you like the subject and you are passionate for it, I don't see why you shouldn't (unless you aren't willing to work hard).

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 3

bethany4673

Our sixth form/college said you had to get the minimum of a B to day maths at A level so I think it depends where you go. As long as you have the work ethic personally I think you will be alright ☺️

Reply 4

jamestg

21

Yes you can but it's down to your effort.

If you don't put the extra work in, you won't do well. My friend got a B at GCSE and had to resort to cheating to get through, he subsequently dropped out just a month later.

Reply 5

MrRobot

OP

1

Original post by waagh

Set 2 only aiming for a B? In my set 2 they tell us that we're pretty much set 1 but we can't have 60 people in a class can we?

typically for A-level you need A in maths but it depends on your college/sixth form. probably have to do an entrance test.

Yeah I still don't understand why the teacher only taught us to that standard but luckily they got rid of the teacher after I did my GCSE, bad timing ha.

Yes, I've been told I could do A level maths with grade B but I was told I'd most likely fail and get a U, so thought I'd come here to ask for opinions :smile:

Reply 6

username2393237

21

It sounds like you had the potential to get an A/A*. I was bullied during my GCSE years and only got a C in Maths, but I later retook it and got an A*.

Go for it. Maybe you could start to work through some of the harder GCSE stuff online to help you prepare. Good luck.

Reply 7

MrRobot

OP

1

Original post by kkboyk

I got a B in GCSE Maths, was in set 3/4, didn't revise currently doing Further Maths and Maths at A2 (plus I applied for a Maths degree). If you like the subject and you are passionate for it, I don't see why you shouldn't (unless you aren't willing to work hard).

That's awesome to hear!! These days I'm always putting in as much effort as possible, learnt my lesson from GCSE

Reply 8

MrRobot

OP

1

Original post by YaliaV

It sounds like you had the potential to get an A/A*. I was bullied during my GCSE years and only got a C in Maths, but I later retook it and got an A*.

Go for it. Maybe you could start to work through some of the harder GCSE stuff online to help you prepare. Good luck.

Wow nice that's amazing! That's actually a great suggestion and something I would do! Especially as I have 5 months until September :biggrin:

Reply 9

Adam_AFC

1

Of course you can. You may be behind in some topics, but providing you work really hard you can end up with an A*. By working hard I mean by getting the course textbook, going through every single example and understanding them fully, as well as doing every single question in the book and getting most of them right. While this may seem overkill to some, it will improve your "mathematical fluency" to such a point, where they can't throw a question at you that you can't solve.

Hard work is directly proportional to an A*.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 10

cleggj88

5

You can in some places but the B grade at Gcse people tend to not do well, you could possibly doing what people did at my college who wanted to do a level maths but got a B, you could resit you gcse maths on fast track(the exam is like in nov and teaching starts at the academic year) and get an A this would help a lot due to the difference between an A and a B is big apparently

Reply 11

Dapperblook22

8

Original post by MrRobot

Title says it all really, but will add some background info!

So I got a B at GCSE in Maths. I was in the second set (next set up being the top), in which the teacher said that because we were the second set we expect everyone to ONLY achieve a B, to which they barely taught us anything harder than B grade. Which personally I thought was ridiculous but at the time I really did't care (definitely don't have that attitude now!)

I've always enjoyed maths and found it quite simple but when it came to sitting exams for GCSE Maths I didn't bother doing anything for it, I didn't do any past papers or practicing, I just went off of memory. I unfortunately had the same attitude towards my other GCSEs too and went off of memory.

Surprisingly I came out with some good GCSEs 10 A*-C, the most important for me being A* in Chemistry, History, A in Physics, Biology, B in Maths, these are the ones I'm considering for A-levels.

FYI - I have had to take 2 years out of education due to ill health and hence why I'm posting this in March and not sometime after results day :bigsmile:

It's definately possible to do A Level Maths with a B in GCSE. I was in 2nd set for GCSE Maths, and we were predicted to get at the most an A, however half of the A*s in my school came from 2nd set - myself included (it felt good to match set 1 who were studing Further Maths :u:

)

However, I have seen people who got As in Maths GCSE struggle and eventually drop out at A Level. This was mostly due to their work ethic however, in our free lessons they would just not complete set work. If you have a good work ethic and willing to work hard then there is no reason not to take A Level Maths with a B grade at GCSE :smile:

.

Reply 12

username1560589

20

The requirements to do A-level maths are usually a B at GCSE. The grade at GCSE doesn't really tell you much about ability though because some schools don't teach everything and some schools don't teach anything. You're best off studying some AS content and seeing how you go(either self-study some now or wait until you start school/college).

edit: While you're asking about maths, the same applies to physics in terms of the maths required.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 13

Jammysmithy

I'm doing AS Maths and I got a B at GCSE - first few topics are tricky in C1 without the A/A* GCSE stuff but once you learn those then it's fine. I actually was in the same situation as you - set 2 - only expected to achieve a B - wasn't even taught the A/A* stuff. You won't fail but the first like month is quite hard. Good Luck!

Reply 14

Amzzyy

8

They did the same thing with Set 2 in my school. I believe you can do Maths because there are some people in my Sixth Form doing Maths who got C's.
:console:

not a good idea ...

it depends tbh

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Reply 17

OmarAl

6

I think you might need to have an algebra test to see if you're good enough to enter if you have a B.

Reply 18

fatima1998

19

You can try and of you don't like it then drop the subject :h:

Reply 19

kieran12321LFC

11

Original post by MrRobot

Title says it all really, but will add some background info!

So I got a B at GCSE in Maths. I was in the second set (next set up being the top), in which the teacher said that because we were the second set we expect everyone to ONLY achieve a B, to which they barely taught us anything harder than B grade. Which personally I thought was ridiculous but at the time I really did't care (definitely don't have that attitude now!)

I've always enjoyed maths and found it quite simple but when it came to sitting exams for GCSE Maths I didn't bother doing anything for it, I didn't do any past papers or practicing, I just went off of memory. I unfortunately had the same attitude towards my other GCSEs too and went off of memory.

Surprisingly I came out with some good GCSEs 10 A*-C, the most important for me being A* in Chemistry, History, A in Physics, Biology, B in Maths, these are the ones I'm considering for A-levels.

FYI - I have had to take 2 years out of education due to ill health and hence why I'm posting this in March and not sometime after results day :bigsmile:

Gonna be honest, everyone in my A-level Maths class has an A* at GCSE so if you only got a B you're gonna have to work like a bastard

Can I do Maths A-Level with a B at GCSE

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