should i take gcse further maths?
im in year 10 going into year 11, top set maths and i got a 7 in my mock (grades were capped at 7). im doing 11 gcses at the moment, so taking fm would make it 12. its edexcel fm btw
why i wAnt to take it:
- i want to do med so i think doing further maths would look good if i can do well in it
why i dont want to take it:
- i do well in maths generally but my class goes at a really fast pace compared to other sets (we finished our second year 11 unit before school finished and we're starting fm in december, i have no clue about the year 11 units we did bc we did it way too quickly). i fear we're going to learn fm quick so i won't grasp the content as well and i dont want to risk doing badly in the exam.
- i have no clue what it even covers, ive heard about stuff like mechanics which im not sure if id do well in
- im debating taking a level maths so it could help
- im aiming for all 8s and 9s so i dont want to learn even more content than i already am and then reduce my chances of all achieving higher grades
- basically everyone in my class is doing it, and you get dropped to bottom or middle set if you dont take it and im not close with many people in those classes, also i dont want to look like im chickening out of it in a way
what should i do? how are other year 10s taking fm finding it??
why i wAnt to take it:
- i want to do med so i think doing further maths would look good if i can do well in it
why i dont want to take it:
- i do well in maths generally but my class goes at a really fast pace compared to other sets (we finished our second year 11 unit before school finished and we're starting fm in december, i have no clue about the year 11 units we did bc we did it way too quickly). i fear we're going to learn fm quick so i won't grasp the content as well and i dont want to risk doing badly in the exam.
- i have no clue what it even covers, ive heard about stuff like mechanics which im not sure if id do well in
- im debating taking a level maths so it could help
- im aiming for all 8s and 9s so i dont want to learn even more content than i already am and then reduce my chances of all achieving higher grades
- basically everyone in my class is doing it, and you get dropped to bottom or middle set if you dont take it and im not close with many people in those classes, also i dont want to look like im chickening out of it in a way
what should i do? how are other year 10s taking fm finding it??
Reply 1
I just finished year 11 and pretty much all of the content was taught to us during our year 11 lessons alongside some of the harder GCSE content.
I personally found it more engaging and interesting than the GCSE material but some of it was challenging at first but after watching a few videos and doing practice questions I got the hang of it (hoping for a C as my exam board uses letters).
If you’re hoping to do a level maths it will give you an advantage and also may help you decide if you’d be interested in doing maths at a level as you’ll get a taste of the content.
At the end of year 10 I did a few GCSE past papers in class and could typically get a low 8 so getting a 7 (especially as you were capped at a 7) means you’ve likely got a high aptitude for the subject. I sat my further maths qualification alongside 10 GCSEs and found the workload manageable. My further maths was OCR level 3 so I think harder than GCSE fm and I started revising for it in around March as I’d missed quite a lot of class content but it wasn’t difficult to catch up. For revision I mostly did practice papers, marked them and then watched videos on topics I messed up on. Also my exam was the last one so I has 4 days I could just dedicate to Maths at the end of exam season which was useful.
Another thing is you could always sit the class but ask not to do the paper, sixth forms dont care if you have it so if taking the paper would stress you out you could still take it and just not get the grade but stick in your class- we were given this option but ask your school if you’re considering it to check its okay with them (no reason it shouldn’t be though as long as you’re not disruptive).
I would advise looking over some of the year 11 GCSE content over the Summer and maybe looking at the spec for your FM exam board to see if the content looks like something you’d engage with well.
Medical schools dont care what GCSE subjects you took as far as I know, just the grades (if they care at all) but it can give you an advantage with starting a levels which might be useful for getting higher UCAS predicted grades then which are important for uni applications but dont stress too much about that yet.
Hope this info helps you a bit and happy to try to answer any more questions if you’ve got them! Have a great day
I personally found it more engaging and interesting than the GCSE material but some of it was challenging at first but after watching a few videos and doing practice questions I got the hang of it (hoping for a C as my exam board uses letters).
If you’re hoping to do a level maths it will give you an advantage and also may help you decide if you’d be interested in doing maths at a level as you’ll get a taste of the content.
At the end of year 10 I did a few GCSE past papers in class and could typically get a low 8 so getting a 7 (especially as you were capped at a 7) means you’ve likely got a high aptitude for the subject. I sat my further maths qualification alongside 10 GCSEs and found the workload manageable. My further maths was OCR level 3 so I think harder than GCSE fm and I started revising for it in around March as I’d missed quite a lot of class content but it wasn’t difficult to catch up. For revision I mostly did practice papers, marked them and then watched videos on topics I messed up on. Also my exam was the last one so I has 4 days I could just dedicate to Maths at the end of exam season which was useful.
Another thing is you could always sit the class but ask not to do the paper, sixth forms dont care if you have it so if taking the paper would stress you out you could still take it and just not get the grade but stick in your class- we were given this option but ask your school if you’re considering it to check its okay with them (no reason it shouldn’t be though as long as you’re not disruptive).
I would advise looking over some of the year 11 GCSE content over the Summer and maybe looking at the spec for your FM exam board to see if the content looks like something you’d engage with well.
Medical schools dont care what GCSE subjects you took as far as I know, just the grades (if they care at all) but it can give you an advantage with starting a levels which might be useful for getting higher UCAS predicted grades then which are important for uni applications but dont stress too much about that yet.
Hope this info helps you a bit and happy to try to answer any more questions if you’ve got them! Have a great day
Reply 2
Original post by 1234cdert
im in year 10 going into year 11, top set maths and i got a 7 in my mock (grades were capped at 7). im doing 11 gcses at the moment, so taking fm would make it 12. its edexcel fm btw
why i wAnt to take it:
- i want to do med so i think doing further maths would look good if i can do well in it
why i dont want to take it:
- i do well in maths generally but my class goes at a really fast pace compared to other sets (we finished our second year 11 unit before school finished and we're starting fm in december, i have no clue about the year 11 units we did bc we did it way too quickly). i fear we're going to learn fm quick so i won't grasp the content as well and i dont want to risk doing badly in the exam.
- i have no clue what it even covers, ive heard about stuff like mechanics which im not sure if id do well in
- im debating taking a level maths so it could help
- im aiming for all 8s and 9s so i dont want to learn even more content than i already am and then reduce my chances of all achieving higher grades
- basically everyone in my class is doing it, and you get dropped to bottom or middle set if you dont take it and im not close with many people in those classes, also i dont want to look like im chickening out of it in a way
what should i do? how are other year 10s taking fm finding it??
why i wAnt to take it:
- i want to do med so i think doing further maths would look good if i can do well in it
why i dont want to take it:
- i do well in maths generally but my class goes at a really fast pace compared to other sets (we finished our second year 11 unit before school finished and we're starting fm in december, i have no clue about the year 11 units we did bc we did it way too quickly). i fear we're going to learn fm quick so i won't grasp the content as well and i dont want to risk doing badly in the exam.
- i have no clue what it even covers, ive heard about stuff like mechanics which im not sure if id do well in
- im debating taking a level maths so it could help
- im aiming for all 8s and 9s so i dont want to learn even more content than i already am and then reduce my chances of all achieving higher grades
- basically everyone in my class is doing it, and you get dropped to bottom or middle set if you dont take it and im not close with many people in those classes, also i dont want to look like im chickening out of it in a way
what should i do? how are other year 10s taking fm finding it??
further maths definitely helps with a level maths. If you're doing medicine (I want to as well) the ideal a levels are biology, chemistry and maths. This is what you learn in the course according to AQA specification: Number, algebra, coordinate geometry (2 dimensions only), calculus, matrix transformations, geometry.
Reply 3
Original post by 1234cdert
im in year 10 going into year 11, top set maths and i got a 7 in my mock (grades were capped at 7). im doing 11 gcses at the moment, so taking fm would make it 12. its edexcel fm btw
why i wAnt to take it:
- i want to do med so i think doing further maths would look good if i can do well in it
why i dont want to take it:
- i do well in maths generally but my class goes at a really fast pace compared to other sets (we finished our second year 11 unit before school finished and we're starting fm in december, i have no clue about the year 11 units we did bc we did it way too quickly). i fear we're going to learn fm quick so i won't grasp the content as well and i dont want to risk doing badly in the exam.
- i have no clue what it even covers, ive heard about stuff like mechanics which im not sure if id do well in
- im debating taking a level maths so it could help
- im aiming for all 8s and 9s so i dont want to learn even more content than i already am and then reduce my chances of all achieving higher grades
- basically everyone in my class is doing it, and you get dropped to bottom or middle set if you dont take it and im not close with many people in those classes, also i dont want to look like im chickening out of it in a way
what should i do? how are other year 10s taking fm finding it??
why i wAnt to take it:
- i want to do med so i think doing further maths would look good if i can do well in it
why i dont want to take it:
- i do well in maths generally but my class goes at a really fast pace compared to other sets (we finished our second year 11 unit before school finished and we're starting fm in december, i have no clue about the year 11 units we did bc we did it way too quickly). i fear we're going to learn fm quick so i won't grasp the content as well and i dont want to risk doing badly in the exam.
- i have no clue what it even covers, ive heard about stuff like mechanics which im not sure if id do well in
- im debating taking a level maths so it could help
- im aiming for all 8s and 9s so i dont want to learn even more content than i already am and then reduce my chances of all achieving higher grades
- basically everyone in my class is doing it, and you get dropped to bottom or middle set if you dont take it and im not close with many people in those classes, also i dont want to look like im chickening out of it in a way
what should i do? how are other year 10s taking fm finding it??
Do not take it - I teach Maths and it is pointless. It takes time away from your other subjects and you need top grades all around.
Reply 4
Original post by Sonia334
further maths definitely helps with a level maths. If you're doing medicine (I want to as well) the ideal a levels are biology, chemistry and maths. This is what you learn in the course according to AQA specification: Number, algebra, coordinate geometry (2 dimensions only), calculus, matrix transformations, geometry.
No it doesn't - it includes topics not even in A level!. It takes time away from other subjects and students need to maximise 9s not the number of subjects. You've been misled.
Reply 5
Original post by Muttley79
No it doesn't - it includes topics not even in A level!. It takes time away from other subjects and students need to maximise 9s not the number of subjects. You've been misled.
That’s informative, thanks for sharing. Do you know if this is the same for OCR FM? Im aware this is a different qualification as it isn’t a GCSE but im interested if you know if this gives an advantage at a level as I’ve been lead to believe that it is and looking through the a level maths spec supports this. Thanks in advance for any clarification on this
Reply 6
Original post by DerDracologe
That’s informative, thanks for sharing. Do you know if this is the same for OCR FM? Im aware this is a different qualification as it isn’t a GCSE but im interested if you know if this gives an advantage at a level as I’ve been lead to believe that it is and looking through the a level maths spec supports this. Thanks in advance for any clarification on this
We don't teach anything other than GCSE Maths and our results are better tha most other schools. We do ensure a thorugh coverage of all topics which many schools don't. We also look at where topics may go in A level. We set post Year 11 summer prep work too.
Reply 7
Original post by Muttley79
No it doesn't - it includes topics not even in A level!. It takes time away from other subjects and students need to maximise 9s not the number of subjects. You've been misled.
Reply 8
Original post by Sonia334
Which exam board do you teach? It's too late for me to switch gcses anyways lol
Edexcel - it's not too late to drop FMaths level 2 [not a GCSE] as you haven't been entered for the exam yet!
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