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Is further maths worth it?

hi, so at school they’re offering top set year 11s an opportunity to have a gcse in further maths. I already do triple science which can be quite stressful, and I’m also doing some essay based/academic kind of subjects (like sociology and spanish). Do you think further maths is worth the effort, or should I just leave it? Also my grade in maths isn’t that great (6-7), but I thought if I do further maths, it might help boost my general maths grade, idk tbh. What do you think?
(edited 3 years ago)
Reply 1
Depends how much you like maths
- Definitely take it if you want to do maths a level
- take it if you find normal maths gcse straightforward and quite easy

I did furthermaths gcse and it was great... it made the first half of AS level really straightforward for me
Personally, I also never revised for normal maths gcse as I found it easy compared to furthermaths (but I may be bias as I really like maths lol)

Furthermaths is obviously challenging but with practice you can do it and even if you dont do that well in it... you dont have to include it in your grades in the future

And I did furthermaths while taking triple science and history/french/art and I was still able to get a decent grade in it
Original post by #anonymous_user
hi, so at school they’re offering top set year 11s an opportunity to have a gcse in further maths. I already do triple science which can be quite stressful, and I’m also doing some essay based/academic kind of subjects (like sociology and spanish). Do you think further maths is worth the effort, or should I just leave it? Also my grade in maths isn’t that great (6-7), but I thought if I do further maths, it might help boost my general maths grade, idk tbh. What do you think?


Everyone at my school in top set maths had to do it, most of us weren't that intelligent (including me). It'll definitely boost your grade, although you might struggle with some of the questions. Better to take it than not take it and regret it.
I did 13 gcses and it wasn't a problem because it's just like doing a tiny bit of extra maths (the GCSE that took the 80% of my time was art of all subjects!). The main difficulty comes from the exam questions themselves but you can practise those if you want a good grade in it.
The content doesn’t relate to gcse maths...it will relate to a level maths and help you if u do a level maths. However, it will make u a stronger mathematician. Personally, I didn’t take further maths at GCSE and it hasn’t affected me the slightest. Invest your time into GCSE maths rather than taking the extra further maths.
If you think you’ll enjoy it then go for it :smile: But I think it would be quite a hard subject to take just for the sake of it
If you're getting 6/7s in GCSE maths now then further maths will be too hard for u cos it links more with a levels than gcse so it's not worth the stress
Original post by LEETmotif
most of us weren't that intelligent (including me).


You probably are quite intelligent tbh..

Original post by LEETmotif
It'll definitely boost your grade, although you might struggle with some of the questions. Better to take it than not take it and regret it.
The main difficulty comes from the exam questions themselves but you can practise those if you want a good grade in it.


also, would you say that the style of exam question is quite similar to normal maths gcses, or are they quite different? I just don’t want to go into it thinking it’s similar, and then have to learn a whole new style of exam questions if that makes sense
Original post by killak434
The content doesn’t relate to gcse maths...it will relate to a level maths and help you if u do a level maths. However, it will make u a stronger mathematician. Personally, I didn’t take further maths at GCSE and it hasn’t affected me the slightest. Invest your time into GCSE maths rather than taking the extra further maths.


Agreed. Methods tend to be unusable in GCSE papers anyway
Reply 8
It's a big help for A-level maths if you plan on taking that. If you don't, then there's not much to gain by taking the GCSE further maths.
Original post by m.s124
Depends how much you like maths
- Definitely take it if you want to do maths a level
- take it if you find normal maths gcse straightforward and quite easy

I did furthermaths gcse and it was great... it made the first half of AS level really straightforward for me
Personally, I also never revised for normal maths gcse as I found it easy compared to furthermaths (but I may be bias as I really like maths lol)

Furthermaths is obviously challenging but with practice you can do it and even if you dont do that well in it... you dont have to include it in your grades in the future

And I did furthermaths while taking triple science and history/french/art and I was still able to get a decent grade in it



dammmnn you sound really clever lol, also do you know if I fail further maths, does it matter or would I have to retake? Would it look bad on college applications etc? I find normal maths gcsr alright tbh (the reason I’m getting 6-7s is mainly bc I haven’t acc done any revision at all), and once I understand it I can apply my knowledge (to a certain extent) I’m just a bit scared that it’ll be too stressful and interfere with revision of my other subjects
(edited 3 years ago)
Original post by killak434
The content doesn’t relate to gcse maths...it will relate to a level maths and help you if u do a level maths. However, it will make u a stronger mathematician. Personally, I didn’t take further maths at GCSE and it hasn’t affected me the slightest. Invest your time into GCSE maths rather than taking the extra further maths.


tbh, the only reasons I’m actually considering it is bc it might help my normal maths gcse grades (although I do realise actually revising will do that too - I just don’t know how to revise maths) but I was thinking doing further maths means more practice ig? Idk.
The second reason was bc I genuinely don’t know what to do for a levels/ career wise and I wanna keep my options open ? Idk
To revise normal maths - start by going on mathsgenie (website) - complete all workbooklets above grade 5 all the way to 9. Then past papers straight after this and you will most likely get a grade 8 atleast.
Reply 12
Original post by #anonymous_user
dammmnn you sound really clever lol, also do you know if I fail further maths, does it matter or would I have to retake? Would it look bad on college applications etc? I find normal maths gcsr alright tbh (the reason I’m getting 6-7s is mainly bc I haven’t acc done any revision at all), and once I understand it I can apply my knowledge (to a certain extent) I’m just a bit scared that it’ll be too stressful and interfere with revision of my other subjects ig

Firstly im not clever lol I just revise... anyone can do it if they can be bothered.
You won't have to retake if you fail.
You dont have to include it on college applications as its an extra gcse... and not essential one

If you take it... you don't have to make it a priority and its nothing to stress over as it doesnt matter if you dont do amazing in it.

if you want to take it because you think it will improve your maths grade it probably won't make much difference as the topics you learn only really come in furthermaths and not maths. In some areas I remember it was useful for normal maths but not significantly.
Further maths at gcse will not open any options. Getting a high grade in gcse maths will. I think most people in my current a level maths class got 8’s and 9’s and still struggle with a level maths. I’m currently in yr 13. I was a rare case where I got a grade 7 in maths at gcse, worked extremely hard in yr 12 and I’m predicted an a star in maths.
Original post by cloud_9_
If you're getting 6/7s in GCSE maths now then further maths will be too hard for u cos it links more with a levels than gcse so it's not worth the stress


That’s true, i might go check the syllabus later on to see if I acc still want to do it. Im not too sure yet, but if it really isn’t worth it then probably not
Also if your considering anything to do with economics, take further maths or AS further at least. I’d recommend taking AS further maths in your second year. Don’t take it in your first year as it relies on most as level maths work.
Original post by killak434
Further maths at gcse will not open any options. Getting a high grade in gcse maths will. I think most people in my current a level maths class got 8’s and 9’s and still struggle with a level maths. I’m currently in yr 13. I was a rare case where I got a grade 7 in maths at gcse, worked extremely hard in yr 12 and I’m predicted an a star in maths.

Original post by killak434
Also if your considering anything to do with economics, take further maths or AS further at least. I’d recommend taking AS further maths in your second year. Don’t take it in your first year as it relies on most as level maths work.


Okay, thank you so much for clearing that up. If that’s the case, I don’t see a reason why I should do it tbh, so I most probably won’t as I don’t see myself doing subjects like eco or business.
Original post by m.s124
Firstly im not clever lol I just revise... anyone can do it if they can be bothered.
You won't have to retake if you fail.
You dont have to include it on college applications as its an extra gcse... and not essential one

If you take it... you don't have to make it a priority and its nothing to stress over as it doesnt matter if you dont do amazing in it.

if you want to take it because you think it will improve your maths grade it probably won't make much difference as the topics you learn only really come in furthermaths and not maths. In some areas I remember it was useful for normal maths but not significantly.


thank you so much, and I’m really sorry for attacking you with all these questions. (I just really didn’t know whether I should take it or not) .
Original post by killak434
To revise normal maths - start by going on mathsgenie (website) - complete all workbooklets above grade 5 all the way to 9. Then past papers straight after this and you will most likely get a grade 8 atleast.


honestly, thanks so much for this!!! I genuinely had no clue how to revise maths, so I’m definitely going to take this advice. Again, thank you so much!

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