Help please - taking A level Maths a year early

Hi all,

I’m a Dad and I’m hoping that someone can help. My son has taken Maths A-level a year early as his school structure does it that way if your doing Further Maths as a 4th A-level (which he is). He got his results yesterday and he got an ‘A’ grade - 6 marks off an A* - a super achievement in a year. However, he’s really keen on studying Physics at Manchester which requires an A* in Maths and Physics.

He’s happy to retake Maths next year but I’m confused as to whether or not he’ll be able to apply with a predicted Maths grade of A*. To me, it seems perfectly reasonable to think that with another year of study he’ll make an A*. But because he's now got an A-level in Maths and will retake, will be be able to apply to UCAS with a predicted grade in this subject?

For context, he is predicted an A* in Physics, A in chemistry and will be A* or A in Further Maths.

Has he been disadvantaged in taking Maths A-level early and 'only' getting an A? Sounds daft as I type this but I hope all this has made sense. Thank you in advance for your advice!

Reply 1

username6322873

Original post by Cordcuttera

Hi all,
I’m a Dad and I’m hoping that someone can help. My son has taken Maths A-level a year early as his school structure does it that way if your doing Further Maths as a 4th A-level (which he is). He got his results yesterday and he got an ‘A’ grade - 6 marks off an A* - a super achievement in a year. However, he’s really keen on studying Physics at Manchester which requires an A* in Maths and Physics.
He’s happy to retake Maths next year but I’m confused as to whether or not he’ll be able to apply with a predicted Maths grade of A*. To me, it seems perfectly reasonable to think that with another year of study he’ll make an A*. But because he's now got an A-level in Maths and will retake, will be be able to apply to UCAS with a predicted grade in this subject?
For context, he is predicted an A* in Physics, A in chemistry and will be A* or A in Further Maths.
Has he been disadvantaged in taking Maths A-level early and 'only' getting an A? Sounds daft as I type this but I hope all this has made sense. Thank you in advance for your advice!

Hi,
You could check with the uni. As a parent you can ask anonymously ask with out the uni putting a grade to a student. If you email them and ask if they allow resists for maths if done in year 12 they will probably give you an answer if you explain the situation.

If they do not allow this I would suggest possibly still applying and worse case scanerio your son gets into his insurance choice.

In terms of being disadvantaged, I don't know I know that the focus on maths in year 13 will likely solely be on further maths which is why some schools decide to do maths a level in year 12, as to allow students to purely focus on further maths content as it will take a whole year to learn.

Reply 2

Cordcuttera

Thanks for the reply. The school and uni have come back to me. So he has to put down his A-level level result, but the school will also give him a predicted grade for when he sits it again next year. So all is good.

(edited 5 months ago)

Reply 3

username6322873

Happy to here it, hope everything goes well 👍👍.

Reply 4

Rpats

Original post by Cordcuttera

Hi, My daughter in the same situation having achieved an A in Maths but needing an A* to do a Maths course at uni. She will also resit next year. Can I ask if the unis confirmed that they would consider the predicted A* grade to make an offer and not the A taken a year early? Many Thanks