Jump from GCSE to A-Level Maths - Is it big?

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username219321

I got a B at GCSE due to being off school for a long time, and finding AS maths easy so far, was finding it difficult at first but I'm pretty sure I'm going to get an A now.

Reply 41

Genii

Im doing Economics and Maths, i made the jump quite easily but i got all A's and A*'s in my GCSEs.

Edit: im also doing History, Further Maths and IT

Reply 42

O.o mY SaRcAsM

yeh the gap was surprisingly big
but as long as you PRACTISE and UNDERSTAND the concepts it gets alot easier
like at the begging of A/S i was like D standard but by the end of the year got a high A
depends on your teacher also

Reply 43

black_mesa

So really from this thread I guess that the gap is quite large and can seem daunting at first but if you work hard it shouldn't be too bad.

Thanks. I'll talk to my teachers and stuff, but thanks for the advice :biggrin:

Reply 44

Rodelero

In some ways it's quite a large jump. GCSE->C1 is, in terms of general mathematical difficulty not too bad, but, the way questions are set tends to be a lot harder.

It's not spoonfed, and you have to find your own way through the questions.

Reply 45

rukshan25

rogerbarton

It depends.

How about this one then:

You get a B at GCSE Math but you're confident you can achieve well in A Level Math. However, sixth form policy is that you cannot take Math unless you have achieved at least an A at GCSE standard. You really want to do Math and your school's sixth form college is the best place to study A Levels for miles. You are aware, however, that a local college accepts people on their Math course who have achieved C or above at GCSE. Do you go there or stay at school and do other subjects? What do you do?

rogerbarton is on the money......... :yep:

i got a 'B' in GCSE but for AS i ended up getting a 'D' :mad:

So he is so true.........

Reply 46

Dragonfly07

Nope, AS maths is ridiculously easy. Hardly any jump from GCSE.

Reply 47

u_dun_noe

Maths AS is fairly easy (so long as you can grasp the concepts) - A2 is what tests you!!!

Reply 48

Transatlanticdrawl_

Dont take A level maths unless you are at least a grade A at GCSE. GCSE B grade candidates who still go steam ahead usually endure two miserable years of facepalms and "Not getting it". I'm just being realistic here, I've seen too many like this

Reply 49

a.sheikh

olevel maths is necessary as it builds in you algebric and arithamtic skills... and also introduces you to trignometry and other stuff..... in alevel and im talking about pure maths the major part of the course is calculas which is not thougth at igcse or gcse .... but if you dont have your basic math skills sorted out then you migth find it difficult to cope. ps i used to suck at maths but worked hard and secured an A* at olevel and scored a high 99% in my alevel paper.

Reply 50

jaydakiss

Transatlanticdrawl_

i totally agree, i got an A in GCSE maths nd dropped A level maths after two months for eng lit lol. if your not a natural mathematical person like me i wouldnt advise you to take it lol

Reply 51

MagicNMedicine

I found it a big jump, I was top set GCSE and got an A* however I struggled a bit with Maths A level. What does help though is the modular system and the chance to resit, as maths is progressive in nature, by the time you are doing P3, you will find P1 stuff really easy as you are using the fundamentals so often, so you can resit and kill it. I did Maths and Further Maths so perhaps it was the pace of the course that I struggled with at first, rather than the subject. I ended up getting As in both though so it is possible to find something a struggle but still do well.

Reply 52

Kaddybong

moreiniho

If you're finding GCSE a bit of struggle, A-level might be a little bit too much. You could do it though if you put the work it.

Yea, i used to struggle with GCSE maths, but all it is really hard work and effort. At least 80% of the reason you'll do well in A levels is the extra independent work you put in. The jump in maths isn't that big at first, because you go over some GCSE topics briefly. I would say the big jump occurs in A2, they really push you in the deep end. But don't worry id say take maths, with hard work you'll do well. It'll only be a "bit too much" if you don't put the effort in and except defeat, because its easy to fall behind. At first i was getting like E's and D's in tests, but before the exams i revised like mad and managed to get good grades! :smile:

Source: Me, struggled with GCSE, thought i'd be having a laugh to take AS levels maths, took it anyway, struggled worked hard, got an A, now struggling again with A2, hopefully will get an A. :smile:

Hardwork...! :work:

Reply 53

JoeWed

Depends, I found the jump from GCSE -> AS Maths Core 1 easy, but the jump from AS Core 1 -> AS Core 2 was much harder.

Reply 54

rukshan25

Yaeh c1 was easy... but c2 was quite hard>

Reply 55

~Hazzle*

A Level maths requires a lot of practise and you need to have a lot of interest in it too. I need to do a lot of hard work until the C1 exam in January.

Reply 56

Kerny

If you had just done GCSE maths and looked at a C1 paper, initially you might think its full of complex mathematical jargon but it's actually not very difficult at all. If you are good at algebraic manipulation you'll particularly feel right at home with C1.
The jump from AS->A2 is probably bigger than gcse->AS tbh.

Reply 57

Thy-Lanky-One

At first i found the jump from GCSE to AS maths quite big but after a few weeks of teaching and settling into 6th form it sort of all seems to blur together and you understand the work more and more on the course.

Reply 58

LH123

I got an A at GCSE, and a D at AS level. Both doing no work. :p:

Reply 59

Jamiie

I got a B at GCSE i'm now doing maths ALevel and i'm really struggling with it, the good thing is i'm finding Economics slightly easier because it does kind of link together.
I'm getting C's and D's in maths at the moment but i've been told that thats pretty normal at the start of year 12?!