Maths advice

So I sat my maths exam this year with edexcel and it was the higher paper. The new spec was so hard and I only answered probably just under half of all 3 papers as I found it nearly impossible to answer the rest as I am a grade 5 student and the other content was too challenging. If I have to resit my maths should I do the foundation papers next time? I think I got roughly 60/240 overall in the higher papers this year

Reply 1

Camzy1

2

My advice is if you can get a C or above in the higher then go for it but if you find it really hard go for the foundation its what i did since im hopeless at advanced maths and passed my resit when i switched to foundation good luck :smile:

Reply 2

jt1212

OP

11

Original post by Camzy1

My advice is if you can get a C or above in the higher then go for it but if you find it really hard go for the foundation its what i did since im hopeless at advanced maths and passed my resit when i switched to foundation good luck :smile:

It's so annoying because I can do a lot of the higher tier content like quadratic formula, recurring decimals and other content that is exclusive to higher and not foundation but on foundation I can pretty much do all the questions apart from a few towards the end of each paper

The new high spec is really hard it's like a level maths :frown:

It really knocks people's confidence

Reply 3

jt1212

OP

11

Original post by Camzy1

My advice is if you can get a C or above in the higher then go for it but if you find it really hard go for the foundation its what i did since im hopeless at advanced maths and passed my resit when i switched to foundation good luck :smile:

What grade did you get when you done the higher the first time?

Reply 4

Camzy1

2

Original post by jt1212

What grade did you get when you done the higher the first time?

When I did higher I got a D in all of my papers and this was also the same in my mocks i told my maths teacher to put me in the foundation but he refused to so my advice is go for the foundation if you really think you cant do the higher and dont let teachers force you into the higher

Reply 5

Danny7867

10

It really depends on your ability and how hard you work. For example i was classed as a grade 3 student at the start of the year and now i have a grade 7. Obviously it takes a lot of dedication and hard work but if you start on the basics for higher and work your way up, you have a higher chance of getting a 5 on higher opposed to doing a foundation paper and trying to get a 5.

Reply 6

jt1212

OP

11

Original post by Camzy1

When I did higher I got a D in all of my papers and this was also the same in my mocks i told my maths teacher to put me in the foundation but he refused to so my advice is go for the foundation if you really think you cant do the higher and dont let teachers force you into the higher

This is what my teacher done in the beginning I was quite confident in doing the higher but about a month before the exam I asked him if I could be put on foundation instead and he said no.

If the old spec was still in use I would have got a B in the old higher papers no problem now I'm struggling to just pass maths! It's actually so depressing to be honest

Reply 7

Camzy1

2

Original post by jt1212

This is what my teacher done in the beginning I was quite confident in doing the higher but about a month before the exam I asked him if I could be put on foundation instead and he said no.

If the old spec was still in use I would have got a B in the old higher papers no problem now I'm struggling to just pass maths! It's actually so depressing to be honest[/Q

At the end of the day its whats best for you so I would tell the maths teacher that you really feel strongly about what paper level you want to be put on and if he still refuses go see someone higher up.

Reply 8

JT_888

20

Original post by jt1212

So I sat my maths exam this year with edexcel and it was the higher paper. The new spec was so hard and I only answered probably just under half of all 3 papers as I found it nearly impossible to answer the rest as I am a grade 5 student and the other content was too challenging. If I have to resit my maths should I do the foundation papers next time? I think I got roughly 60/240 overall in the higher papers this year

Hi, there. In reality, if you sat the Higher Tier paper instead of the Foundation Tier, logically speaking, it should be easier to secure that Grade 5 because, despite the tricky questions, there will be crosslinks between the papers and there will be questions you may not be able to answer fully but can gain some credit. It's quite difficult to pinpoint exactly what grade a 60/240 is because this is a new specification. However, I will be very honest and say that may not be enough to secure the Grade 5 because most weaker students will probably score say around 30-40 in each paper and the grade boundaries will reflect this. Anyways, I still wish you all the best on results day and hopefully, you'll make the grade.

@_gcx @Gabzinc - Correct me if I'm wrong about GB predictions. :wink:

Reply 9

jt1212

OP

11

Original post by CoffeeAndPolitics

Hi, there. In reality, if you sat the Higher Tier paper instead of the Foundation Tier, logically speaking, it should be easier to secure that Grade 5 because, despite the tricky questions, there will be crosslinks between the papers and there will be questions you may not be able to answer fully but can gain some credit. It's quite difficult to pinpoint exactly what grade a 60/240 is because this is a new specification. However, I will be very honest and say that may not be enough to secure the Grade 5 because most weaker students will probably score say around 30-40 in each paper and the grade boundaries will reflect this. Anyways, I still wish you all the best on results day and hopefully, you'll make the grade.

@_gcx @Gabzinc - Correct me if I'm wrong about GB predictions. :wink:

Ok hopefully I get a grade 4 at the minimum then

Reply 10

username3279922

11

in my mock i got a total of 90 which was apparently a grade 5 so maybe you will get a 4/low 5 if you get a total of 60 :smile:

Reply 11

Gabzinc

15

Original post by CoffeeAndPolitics

Hi, there. In reality, if you sat the Higher Tier paper instead of the Foundation Tier, logically speaking, it should be easier to secure that Grade 5 because, despite the tricky questions, there will be crosslinks between the papers and there will be questions you may not be able to answer fully but can gain some credit. It's quite difficult to pinpoint exactly what grade a 60/240 is because this is a new specification. However, I will be very honest and say that may not be enough to secure the Grade 5 because most weaker students will probably score say around 30-40 in each paper and the grade boundaries will reflect this. Anyways, I still wish you all the best on results day and hopefully, you'll make the grade.

@_gcx @Gabzinc - Correct me if I'm wrong about GB predictions. :wink:

Thanks for the tag!

And yeah, looking at previous stats for mocks, and assuming that student results will be better, it is unlikely that 60 will end up being a 5... instead being more likely to be a 4. Personally, I see the boundary for a 5 being somewhere around 80-85, although I cannot say for certain.

Reply 12

jt1212

OP

11

Original post by Gabzinc

Thanks for the tag!

And yeah, looking at previous stats for mocks, and assuming that student results will be better, it is unlikely that 60 will end up being a 5... instead being more likely to be a 4. Personally, I see the boundary for a 5 being somewhere around 80-85, although I cannot say for certain.