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How hard is Further Maths A-Level?

I got an A (close to an A*) in my maths iGCSE. I'm thinking of doing Maths, Further Maths and Computer Science as my a-levels however I've heard Further Maths is incredibly hard in comparison to the Maths a-level. I have a passion for maths and particularly like the more pure side of maths not percentages and the basic GCSE stuff.

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Reply 1

Amin-K

Original post by darkes

A level maths is already pretty difficult so further maths will kill you. I got an A at GCSE maths and I’m getting C/Ds now

Reply 2

Boss_Rhythm

I took A-Level further maths without a second thought...
idek what I'm meant to be expecting for it

Reply 3

FryOfTheMann

I took/am taking maths, further maths & computing for A Level. In my opinion, further maths isn't too difficult because a lot of modules have similar content (e.g: matrices and imaginary numbers in the further pure modules). As long as your teachers aren't awful, I'm sure you'll do fine with the subject choices (if you have bad teachers, it can be a bit of a struggle to teach yourself all the modules for maths/FM).

Reply 4

Krab21

I personally think further maths is better than normal maths, but that is only if you really enjoy maths and are good at it. Normal maths has a lot of ******** while further maths cuts all of it out and its just pure maths and its amazing because it really expands and you just have to apply prior knowledge to a higher extend and its so fun. So, do further maths if u think you will enjoy it and won't struggle too much.

Reply 5

username2424985

If you're good at maths and enjoy it, Maths and FM should feel like one and a half A Levels, not two. The only challenging content is in the Further Pure modules - Stats 2 and 3 and Decision 2 are easier than their respective 1 modules, and M2 should be straightforward if you're good at M1, which isn't terribly hard. Be prepared to do lots of past papers, but that should be a doddle.

Edit: I ****ed up, I forgot this will be for the new-spec maths. My advice only applies to old-spec. My bad. The new specification is denser and harder than the one we had, and it has a double-edged sword in terms of AS/A2 separation - screwing up in year 12 won't ruin your year 13 grade, and you should be better at the y12 content by the end of y13, but equally acing y12 will make no positive difference to the final A2 grade either.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 6

Sinnoh

Original post by Amin-K

A level maths is already pretty difficult so further maths will kill you. I got an A at GCSE maths and I’m getting C/Ds now

That's right people, literally everyone does badly at maths A-level. No exceptions whatsoever.

Reply 7

Where'sPerry?

If you've got a passion for maths, go for it! I wouldn't have said it was always harder than the regular Maths A-Level; some of the FM topics are just different. For example, I studied matrices as part of FP1 and I don't remember them being particularly hard. On the other hand, I absolutely hated polar coordinates in FP2, I distinctly remember fluffing that question in the exam :tongue:

The good thing (in my opinion) about FM is that, if you're taking the two A-Levels in parallel, you need to get up to speed with some of the Maths content before you've actually covered it in your lessons. (this was my experience with Edexcel anyway) Therefore, in Maths lessons you will just be recapping or you could even spend the time getting on with FM work if your teacher doesn't mind/if you are sneaky!

I was never gifted in maths and always had to work really hard. But if you're willing to put the time in, you definitely can do well. It was my most "satisfying" A-Level to do - getting a tricky question right was awesome! :smile:

Reply 8

physconomics

I do new spec A level maths and further maths, further maths is a lot less hard than i expected - some topics are difficult initially but after a bit of practice it just becomes easy again. Further maths is genuinely really fun and interesting though, i would really recommend it. Got a 9 in Maths at GCSE for reference

Reply 9

username2752874

Original post by darkes

Most people who get A*/A in normal maths are people who got A* grades at GCSE.

Typical grade would be a B/C for an A student.

For further maths, it's probably a C

Reply 10

username3480226

Original post by darkes

Further maths is manageable by anyone who recognises how many hours you need to invest in keeping up to speed and making sure you practice your skills throughly enough to get good and stay good. If you're only doing Maths and Computer Science alongside them it should be fine as long as you don't let yourself fall through the cracks.That said, it isn't uncommon to drop it, especially if you only got an A at GCSE, so only taking those 3 A-Levels could put you at risk, or make your life easier - possibly a risk but also a really strong subject to have.

Reply 11

ninja_uchiha

Original post by physconomics

is an 8 fine for a level further maths? I can say with confidence that my algabra is strong but i hate the ratio questions. All other aspects i find relativley easy and have a passion for maths.

Reply 12

physconomics

Original post by ninja_uchiha

is an 8 fine for a level further maths? I can say with confidence that my algabra is strong but i hate the ratio questions. All other aspects i find relativley easy and have a passion for maths.

Yes it definitely is. As long as your algebra is strong you’ll be fine with the core content. Just discuss with your teacher which optional modules would be best suited to you

Reply 13

ninja_uchiha

Original post by physconomics

Yes it definitely is. As long as your algebra is strong you’ll be fine with the core content. Just discuss with your teacher which optional modules would be best suited to you

Okay thanks, i just can't wait until i don't have to do crusty english again and all these weird subjects that i dont wanna do which is all of them except maths, physics and computing these are the only ones i'm interested in

Reply 14

darkes

Original post by ninja_uchiha

same here tbh, can't wait until I'm done with crappy english

Reply 15

ninja_uchiha

Original post by darkes

same here tbh, can't wait until I'm done with crappy english

yh, i'm not revising heavily cuz i just hate english. I don't know why analysing 15 poems and remembering 5 characters and quotes from an inspector calls can help ppl understand our english ability along with doing an exam for language which requires you to analyse the structure of a text. IT DOESN'T EVEN HELP. PLUS RS CAN GO SUCK ONE, AND GEOGRAPHY, BIO AND CHEM CAN RECIEVE IT , THEY BETTER DO IT TO DECREASE THE SURPLUS POPULATION. Plus, the question on a christmas carol was how is scrooge scared. Lol such a pussyo

Reply 16

muffinmachine

There really isn't a single answer to your question. Apart from the obvious differences in what people find difficult, A-Level Maths and Further Maths from different exam boards are completely different subjects. Sure, they have the same syllabus (they didn't until last year) but the difficulty of the exams they write varies wildly.

OCR and Edexcel's Further Maths exams are the really hard ones, with OCRs Mechanics 2 module being infamous for having the lowest pass rate of any legacy A-level module.
On the other hand, AQA and CEAs Further Maths exams verge on being trivial. CIE is somewhere in the middle.

Reply 17

Amin-K

Original post by Sinnoh

That's right people, literally everyone does badly at maths A-level. No exceptions whatsoever.

can’t tell if that’s sarcasm or not...?

Reply 18

steveeem

Original post by Amin-K

A level maths is already pretty difficult so further maths will kill you. I got an A at GCSE maths and I’m getting C/Ds now

I got a 7 at gcse and im getting As so dont listen to them

Reply 19

Seppuku

Original post by Kyber Ninja

Most people who get A*/A in normal maths are people who got A* grades at GCSE.

Typical grade would be a B/C for an A student.

For further maths, it's probably a C

Progress is non linear. These are generalisations.