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How hard is A-level Maths?

I'm meant to be starting maths at 6th form in September. Not sure which exam board.

I did Cambridge IGCSE maths and got an A* in my mock. I suspect I got an A/A* in the real exam but obviously I don't know yet.

I've heard some people saying the A-level is easy and some people saying it's extremely difficult, so just wanted to get some opinions on how much of a step up you found it from GCSE?

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Reply 1

shutupgeorgia

It ultimately depends on the exam board chosen and the topics chosen by your school, and also the work that you are willing to put into it.
Some people are just naturally more gifted with maths in general, but please note that A level maths regardless of the exam board is a whole world away from GCSEs.
My exams were OCR, and I put a lot of work in and saw my improvement paper after paper, and even now I'm concerned for my grade.

Reply 2

black1blade

Original post by shutupgeorgia

I think last years c1 paper and this year's c4 paper was particularly difficult so hopefully grade boundary is low.

Reply 3

Kieranlynch178

Again like the other person said depends on exam board, I did AQA maths and found it rather hard at times, it also depends on what modules your school chooses.Personally I did statistics and Decision which I thought were good.Also gcses when you get to a level mean absolutely nothing.I know people who got mainly A* at gcse and flopped at a level and got Cs and Ds.I got an A* at gcse maths and probably only just got an A at a level.

Reply 4

the bear

IGCSE is a good basis for A level. you should prepare over the Summer break; there are books such as

http://www.alphaworkbooks.co.uk/store/product/preparation-for-asa-level-maths

which will help.

Reply 5

bbll98

Original post by shutupgeorgia

Unfortunately my 6th form haven't said which exam board we're doing so it's hard to tell. I am willing to work hard at it but am doubting myself as I wouldn't say I'm naturally gifted at maths at all. I do like it, but had to work really hard throughout the GCSE course to make sure I got everything.

The reason I chose it is because I want to do economics at university and quite a few unis want a maths A-level for it, so not sure what other choice I have but to do it.

Edit: Just checked on the website and it says the exam board is OCR for maths. How did you find OCR as a whole?

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 6

bbll98

Original post by the bear

IGCSE is a good basis for A level. you should prepare over the Summer break; there are books such as

http://www.alphaworkbooks.co.uk/store/product/preparation-for-asa-level-maths

which will help.

Yeah, I was planning to do a bit of work over summer to make sure I'm prepared. Thanks for the link, I'll check it out.

Reply 7

haes

I think it really depends on how gifted you are at maths or how much you enjoy it? I personally don't find it (core maths, at least) to be that bad because it's pretty repetitive and once you get used to the concepts and really understand what you're doing then Maths can be a breeze. As for the optional modules, it really depends (e.g. i sucked at stats because i hated it so much but after practicing it enough i ended up getting 100 UMS). That being said, it is indeed a massive step from GCSE!!

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 8

Inker

when you're learning the content it's easy. but the exams are extremely hard. if you don't do constant practice (i didn't for some modules) you can get a C or worse.

Reply 9

bbll98

Original post by Kieranlynch178

Just found out I'm doing OCR. Really not sure whether to change my courses or not now, because I don't think I'm that great at maths and had to work my butt off to do well in just the GCSE.

Reply 10

bbll98

Original post by haes

Wouldn't say I'm gifted at maths at all, but I do really like it so am definitely willing to put the work in.

Reply 11

username2971108

Original post by black1blade

I think last years c1 paper and this year's c4 paper was particularly difficult so hopefully grade boundary is low.

I know I ****ed up c4 big time *shudders*

Reply 12

ByronicHero

If you enjoy maths enough to want to study often it will be trivial (hehe).

Reply 13

sername

Pretty easy for me- when I started college, everything just seemed to click. The content is really easy to learn, compared to other A-Level subjects, but applying it to some weird questions can sometimes be difficult. If you practice lots of papers, it won't be that much harder than GCSE.

Reply 14

ShadowSeeker

Original post by bella2001

it depends on you as a person
are you motivated , do you enjoy maths?

I did IGCSE maths edexcel(A) and GCSE edexcel Maths (B)
i took A level maths and waiting to find out my result this August

however , you are giong to do the new spec for september 2018
therefore you are the first to do the new spec with everything combined and 3 papers at the end opf the 2 years of A level
we whom have responded have done the old spec - the modular way of Maths
I was told the new spec is harder than the old spec

Reply 15

haes

Original post by bella2001

Wouldn't say I'm gifted at maths at all, but I do really like it so am definitely willing to put the work in.

In that case then you should definitely go for it! I didn't find myself gifted in maths at all but I enjoyed it a lot and so working for it wasn't hard and it was very refreshing compared to all the other content-based subjects that I did