Self studying A-level Maths

I’m looking to self study maths, but I’m fairly lost where to start, I’ve had a look at the AQA specification and the step up from GCSE looks fairly daunting.

I was wondering if anyone could give me their prior experiences of self studying an A level and the best recourses to use to achieve top grades.

Thanks

Reply 1

mnot

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by S765

I never did it it self taught but i have a lot of experience learning maths (A-level normal & further, Degree, Masters in engineering...)

I think maths is very logic driven and what is key is focusing on methodology behind the steps you take.

For example with calculus, you can initially get away with just learning the operational steps but as you progress further through the A-level where calculus begins mixing up with trig functions, logs etc. it is key you understand (i really can't recommend enough working calculus algebraically from first principles, I know this is an AS further math topic but it is really useful).

As i say focus on the methodology and a deep rooted understanding of the theory, A-level maths can look difficult at the start but once you've got a solid foundation the actual content is fairly easy (although no doubt doing it self taught will make things much harder, maybe try and find someone to speak to once a week just to gather your thoughts and clarify you've understood what your learning correctly.

Reply 2

the bear

there are plenty of publications aimed at bridging the gap:

https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/bridging-the-gap-between-gcse-and-a-level-new-curriculum-11913922

Reply 3

Geodesic

Original post by S765

I find Maths to be one of the best subjects to self study, as it is quite direct (at least at A-level anyway). By direct I mean even though the material is not extremely easy, it is not like English Lit or History where you might need someone to check over your work and mark your essays etc. It might be good to get a list of the topics you have to learn and make yourself a checklist or schedule, depending on your preference.

Important thing to focus on when self-studying anything is to be very honest with yourself. Do not just gloss over the questions you find hard/don't understand, but focus on them instead. Identify your weak points and then eliminate them. As long as you have motivation and a good work ethic, it's really not that hard to learn A-level maths on your own and get a top grade. Do lots of exam style questions and past papers, practice is very important! Resources: ExamSolutions, P&MTutor, SolomonPapers. Best of luck!

(edited 4 years ago)

Reply 4

Keeperoflegends

I self studied for all of my a levels and maths is one of them. Let's just say AS was easy but for A2 the exam questions started ro be a bit tricky for edexcel IAL. I mostly did past paper questions by topic as I do think the questions in bks are too easy when u got the concept clear. You could start with the questions in testbks to confirm u know wht u r doing while studying but when preparing for exam find harder questions especially if u hv time. Edexcel got sth like bronze silver and gold level questions but im unsure bout aqa. There's nothing to lose to prac with more complex questions u might find questions in ur real exam far less difficult and u can finish it easily

Reply 5

studentraps

your examboard it's not edexcel you will be fine just work hard if it is edexcel your exam board well enjoy the mess their gonna make of your lives with their year on year leaks and stupid questions for A2 anyway As is ok,

Self studying A-level Maths

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