self study further maths worth it?

hiya i’m doing my a levels soon and i want to do maths further maths psychology and religious studies and the epq but my school doesn’t allow you to do four subjects and the epq also for further maths they don’t allow us to pick our own modules and the module they have picked is further mechanics which is my least favourite and i would much rather do further pure also even though i’ve been getting 9s in my gcse i’m still in bottom set maths even though i have very similar marks to people in top set but i, worried they wouldn’t even let me do further maths even if i didn’t do the epq for example because they only let around 10 people do it every year so i came up with the idea of self studying further maths as i enjoy maths and am considering it at university so i would need further maths obviously people have self studied it before but it’s already a difficult qualification especially to self learn but it will open up my options and help me with maths does anyone have any good resources or advice? thank you in advance for any responses it’s very much appreciated!

Guess there are a few things you can think about
If you decide to do fm, Id try and take it at the school as 3 a levels (+ epq) and not be overly concerned with which optional modules you do.

the thing is that since i’m in bottom set even though i’m getting grade 9 i’m not allowed to move up because we aren’t allowed set changes this year meaning that i can’t even apply to do further maths at my school because only the top ppl in top set are allowed so that’s why i was considering self study

and also with the mechanics thing it’s just that i’m dreadful at physics like i really enjoy pure maths and i would work very hard at it for a level but mechanics looks so hard in fm 😭

thank you for ur response btw

the thing is that since i’m in bottom set even though i’m getting grade 9 i’m not allowed to move up because we aren’t allowed set changes this year meaning that i can’t even apply to do further maths at my school because only the top ppl in top set are allowed so that’s why i was considering self study

and also with the mechanics thing it’s just that i’m dreadful at physics like i really enjoy pure maths and i would work very hard at it for a level but mechanics looks so hard in fm 😭

thank you for ur response btw

I've never heard of a restriction as to what set you need to be in to do Further Maths! I teach Maths and know a lot of schools - is this a state school? It;s crazy that someone performing at a grade 9 isn't allowed to choose it.

Id really have a word with your school about the sets issue. If youre getting a 9 (with the proviso that getting a 9 in the gcse exam is harder than getting 9 in end of topic tests, though you still have 5 months of exam practice to bridge any gaps), then really there should be no obvious reason you couldnt take fm. If your school wont let you and you decide you really want/need to do it, is there another sixth form nearby you could apply to?

As before, Id really not be overly concerned about the module. Learning about forces etc in more detail may make it click, but it will require more work, though that would be significantly less than self teaching, even with some support, the whole thing.

for my mocks i was getting like 78/80 non calc and 76/80 calculator which is a good grade 9 but they refuse to move me up even though ppl in top set are getting 4s their system is so weird and really annoying and i’ve asked before and they said i would be more comfortable in bottom set and i was like please move me up and they sad straight up no

also for the mechanics thing i think i’m just scared looking at it and it all looks so unfamiliar like i believe if i work at it i can do well even though i enjoy it much less than pure 😭 i mean ideally i would do pure but i appreciate self learning is very difficult but it could b good practice for uni especially considering i want to do a pure maths degree at uni ?

also another thing is that the school doesn’t help u if they don’t think u will 100% succeed so since i’m in bottom set they believe it would be crazy i would even think abt a level let alone a degree which is very frustrating even though i’m prepared to work very hard and i have told them this but they don’t care and i can’t really apply to another other sixth forms or sixth form colleges because there are none near me and the only others are private and i don’t have the budget for private or boarding further away

Id honestly get your parents to speak to the school about fm. If youre working at a grade 9 level then it seems wrong that you shouldnt be considered if you get the grades, especially if yours is the only school in the area.

As above though, Id really not focus on the optional module. Taking responsibility for your own learning is a good habit to get into but its easy to underestimate the time it takes to learn the stuff properly, especially if you have 3+ other a levels. Unis would typically rank 3 good a levels above 4 medium, even if the latter includes fm.

i’ve already asked my parents to ask but like the school straight up refused saying since i haven’t been working at 9s for years and years and years i won’t be able to cope and they only accept ppl who have been getting top grades since like year 7 and like for me in year 7 i wasn’t really focused on revising for exams 5 years away 😭

i’m not sure if they’re is any way that i will able to study it at school from the beginning which is annoying so i was just wondering if there were online courses or smth where i could just self learn and then after the AS content i could ask the school if i could sit the mock where we get predicted grades and if i do well they will hopefully let me continue especially since we finish the epq fairly early on in year 13 so i will have space in my timetable

but idk if it’s a good idea or i should literally beg the school even more to let me do fm because they say that they are oversubscribed with ppl who have been working at grade 9 for longer but it’s honestly not that true there are only like 5/6 ppl who are getting those grades who have only joined in the last 1-2 years and I'm friends with one of them and she says she doesn’t even want to do it or she’s leaving the school same with another girl who wants to go to uni in hk which counts maths and fm as the same and wants to take all 3 sciences so she can’t do it even if she wanted without dropping another but they are refusing me to be allowed in case they change their minds ??

Id really persevere with the school and if necessary go to the governors (assuming you get the grades). Its vaguely ridiculous so say youve got to be grade 9 since year dot (though its good learning practice to put in a consistent effort) and theyd find it hard to defend if it wasnt based on mock/gcse results which are current assessments.

okay i will try but if they don’t let me what should i do ? like if self studying is really hard it doesn’t seem ideal but i really want to do maths at uni (preferably a top uni) so i would need fm

Its a bit of a double whammy but the problem with fm self study and aiming at oxbridge/imperial is that they require an entrance exam/interviews and this requires a significant extra effort above the normal m/fm syllabus (your fm self study time). Warwick doesnt but typically requires A* in both m & fm so youd have to self study and achieve the top grade to make it worthwhile. Bath requires A*/A in m/fm which would be tough but maybe achievable with self study fm.

Id push as hard as possible at your place (if its the only school) to do fm and impress during your lessons/tests in the next few months. So hit the grade 9 maths question books/papers, maybe do a bit maths reading, ...

okay thank you! also when you refer to extra work do you mean the step papers or the advanced extension award ?

Typically, the mat/step entrance exams need a fair amount of extra work and, speaking informally, this is where consistently working at a higher level does help. Similarly the interviews can be as selective as the exams and extra work is needed. AEA is a bit different, but ...

wait can u talk a bit more about the AEA because that is what u was considering doing as the step papers look so hard 😭

Not sure what you mean. There were four 4 harder tests/exams tmua/aea/mat/step and its easy enough to look them up. tmua is getting dropped/replaced next year and aea is probably a bit more legacy but some places accept it. Most (top) places use mat/step results (if theyre taken) to give a reduced standard offer as they are the standard oxford/cambridge entrance exams.

tbh i was looking at the step papers with someone with gcse knowledge so that probably y they looked so hard 😭 which do u think that are most commonly used or similar to a level maths/fm

Cant help you are getting a bit ahead of yourself. Step/mat stuff isnt easy but with a decent preparation they are doable. Id really just concentrate on getting your gcses sorted (and your a levels) and maybe do a bit reading/problem solving.

hi it’s a grammar school and the sixth form is at the same school they literally just say they will ask people who are doing the best in top set and work their way down and basically do that until they have asked everyone who got above grade 8 in their actual gcse and to be fair i haven’t done my gcse yet and was getting 6s last year but we have done many exams and i’ve had my first set of mocks where i got almost full marks and they refuse to move me up because i was in bottom set last year it’s stupid and really frustrating especially since i can’t do 4 subjects (maths and fm counting as 2) and the epq it makes it even more difficult