Can't take further maths

I am currently in year 12 studying maths, physics and computer science a level. I don't like computer science a level and I am dropping it in June (I have to wait until then). I really want to do either a maths degree or a maths and economics degree. I want to go to a top university in the UK and I know that I will be definitely be applying to maths at the university of Manchester. I wanted to take further maths or economics a level to replace computer science but unfortunately I have been told no. The head of maths said that you really can't do it in one year so I asked if I tried to self study the further maths AS level from June until September and if I was doing well enough then I could join the A2 but if I wasn't doing well then I would just join statistics and do it in one year. However, she said that we would be setting you up to fail. I have 97777666 at GCSE (7 in maths) and I want to apply to universities like Imperial, UCL, Warwick and these all require further maths. I am definitely dropping computer science and I have been offered statistics a level instead. If I am unable to take further maths should I take statistics or should I self study further maths a level. Should I ask her again and speak to her more to at least let me try. Do i just need to accept the fact that I can't apply to those universities? Only problem with self studying and entering as a private candidate is the fees which I can't pay for. I am on bursary so would I get any discount or some sort and if I sit the exam in college but as a private candidate are there any fees? I am aiming for at least a good A in my end of year maths exam so shall I wait and see if I can get an A* then ask again about further maths? If I do further maths I can start from June but unfortunately with statistics I would have to sit 8 lessons a week instead of the usual 4 for one subject from September.

Hi, I have done both maths and computer science at university and a big statistics component in masters (in applied maths) and also I went to manchester uni so I really resonate with your goals :-) , here are my thoughts on this. Firstly it is a pity that you want to drop computer science since it is such a key skill for the future, even more so now with the explosion in AI. That said, if you want to do maths or economics at uni, you are right to want to do further maths - further maths is quite a bit harder than maths, so you would be taking on a lot but at uni the maths gets harder, this is why the universities you mentioned would want you to do the a level in further maths ahead of the degree course. The A levels really are a good opportunity to build that strong foundation in Maths. A statistics A level in my opinion is not the same and anyhow, once you have done A level further maths, you can add statistics modules at uni or at postgrad. In my opinion it is easier to add on the statistics after a good foundation in maths, and to a large extent this is also true for computer science, though it really helps to have good software engineering foundations at uni. Now to your point about your school - I checked on edexcel fees and as I understand it for a levels in June 2024 they are not due till feb/march 2024 ? so you have time to do some summer job type thing and earn them? I dont know on bursaries - you'd have to check. A bit more of concern to me is 2 points: (a) the 7 at GCSE, as you are so passionate about maths, you would have hoped for a higher at GCSE, because the further maths needs good foundations, still you can make this up by putting the time in now and if you really want to go with maths at uni then no time like now to build strong foundations, (b) the 2nd point you want to check is: do the courses you want to apply to rely on predictions from your school ? will they offer if you explain in your personal statement that you are doing the further maths privately - there would need to be a strong explanation for this, so its well worth trying to persuade your school - or otherwise you might consider taking a year off before university and applying with exam results in hand rather than with predictions, some universities have their own entrance exams and you need to check the dates of these, oxford for example is around october 2023 for 2024 entry, so a year ahead, others could be later ( I think it could be around january or later for imperial?), but you need to check this too because you have a lot of ground to cover. That said, my view is that it is worth postponing by a year if you really want to read maths at uni. A year might seem a long time now but in the big picture of life you are really not losing any thing and it is always worth studying what you are passionate about and it is also worth getting into a top university. I am new to this site so not sure how to dm, but happy to talk further on dm.