The Student Room Group

A level maths help urgent

I’m really struggling with maths currently I’m working on a B/C in bio B/C in chem and maths is probably at an E and it’s really upsetting because i really do put the effort in but I struggle to remember the methods and I struggle approaching a question, I look at it and think omg there are so many things I can do what should I do. Also my maths class is really small and most of the people do further maths so the teacher paces up everything. In year 12 I would just sit and listen thinking I don’t know the previous topic how am I going to know this but now I have stopped paying attention to whatever he is doing and I’ll do topics from the previous chapter- this way I am behind but at least I know something rather than doing the exercise he’s teaching and not having and clue about previous or current stuff . But my main problem is having to always learn the content my self and having no time to revise old topics and I’m putting bio and chem at risk by always catching up with maths. I focus more on maths as the teacher tests us every two weeks. How should I be catching up with bio and chem topics and year 12 revsion when all my time is going to maths . Any advice is appareicated :smile:)
Reply 1
Hi, I know exactly how you feel in year 12 I had a teacher that didn't really explain things properly so it would be so frustrating having to spend time teaching myself the whole topic. My advice is going and speaking to the teacher about your concerns; they're here to help you and if you are struggling it is their job to help. You can even go to them at break or lunch times to ask for help. In terms of revision resources, maths genie is a great website with videos on how to do questions and key points as well as exam questions so I recommend using it. TL maths is also good but the amount of videos can be a bit overwhelming but it's great for learning things from scratch. I got a bad grade in maths last year so currently resitting so I totally understand your struggles. If you have free periods, try to use these to catch up with maths so that you can do the other subjects and year 12 revision at home.
If you need any more advice just let me know :smile:
(edited 1 week ago)
Reply 2
Original post by S_340
Hi, I know exactly how you feel in year 12 I had a teacher that didn't really explain things properly so it would be so frustrating having to spend time teaching myself the whole topic. My advice is going and speaking to the teacher about your concerns; they're here to help you and if you are struggling it is their job to help. You can even go to them at break or lunch times to ask for help. In terms of revision resources, maths genie is a great website with videos on how to do questions and key points as well as exam questions so I recommend using it. TL maths is also good but the amount of videos can be a bit overwhelming but it's great for learning things from scratch. I got a bad grade in maths last year so currently resitting so I totally understand your struggles. If you have free periods, try to use these to catch up with maths so that you can do the other subjects and year 12 revision at home.
If you need any more advice just let me know :smile:


Hi thank you so much i have somewhat talked to my teacher and he told me to do a vocational course and said something like I have to drop all of my a levels which I don’t want to do because I love a level bio and chemistry is quite fun, honestly asking him for help makes me feel kinda worse. I just want to pass mathsss but I can’t seem to figure out how
Reply 3
Original post by 6767676
Hi thank you so much i have somewhat talked to my teacher and he told me to do a vocational course and said something like I have to drop all of my a levels which I don’t want to do because I love a level bio and chemistry is quite fun, honestly asking him for help makes me feel kinda worse. I just want to pass mathsss but I can’t seem to figure out how
That's strange, it's not exactly like you are struggling with all of your a levels. If you think you would do better on a vocational course then that's fine otherwise if you put in enough dedication you can definitely do well in maths. It's totally up to you!
I know exactly how you feel, im doing the same a levels as you but instead of struggling with maths, im stuggling with the chem side of things. I'd say the best thing to do is ask your teacher/head of year for support. maybe if you speak to your head of year they can chat to the maths department about it to save you doing it? depends on how well you know your teachers and your level of comfort with them..all you can do is try your best..i have a few friends who got an E and U in their exams last year (we do AS levels too? not sure where you are so you might not do this) and theyre continuing on but honestly its up to you..suppose this is moral support more than helpful support so sorry bout that but just try your best, your grades dont equal your value as a person! also you could retake the exam if you feel it went really badly afterwards..usually people do a lot better in their retake exams! xx
(edited 1 week ago)
Reply 5
Original post by S_340
That's strange, it's not exactly like you are struggling with all of your a levels. If you think you would do better on a vocational course then that's fine otherwise if you put in enough dedication you can definitely do well in maths. It's totally up to you!


Thank you so much, I don’t have the heart to do a vocational course because that way I wasted an entire year and I’m not even failing chem or bio, so it’s just going to be a lot of self effort but hopefully it goes well and I pass
Reply 6
Original post by StudentAC
I know exactly how you feel, im doing the same a levels as you but instead of struggling with maths, im stuggling with the chem side of things. I'd say the best thing to do is ask your teacher/head of year for support. maybe if you speak to your head of year they can chat to the maths department about it to save you doing it? depends on how well you know your teachers and your level of comfort with them..all you can do is try your best..i have a few friends who got an E and U in their exams last year (we do AS levels too? not sure where you are so you might not do this) and theyre continuing on but honestly its up to you..suppose this is moral support more than helpful support so sorry bout that but just try your best, your grades dont equal your value as a person! also you could retake the exam if you feel it went really badly afterwards..usually people do a lot better in their retake exams! xx


Thank you im just going to have to try my best in maths, hopefully chemistry gets easier for you !!
Original post by 6767676
I’m really struggling with maths currently I’m working on a B/C in bio B/C in chem and maths is probably at an E and it’s really upsetting because i really do put the effort in but I struggle to remember the methods and I struggle approaching a question, I look at it and think omg there are so many things I can do what should I do. Also my maths class is really small and most of the people do further maths so the teacher paces up everything. In year 12 I would just sit and listen thinking I don’t know the previous topic how am I going to know this but now I have stopped paying attention to whatever he is doing and I’ll do topics from the previous chapter- this way I am behind but at least I know something rather than doing the exercise he’s teaching and not having and clue about previous or current stuff . But my main problem is having to always learn the content my self and having no time to revise old topics and I’m putting bio and chem at risk by always catching up with maths. I focus more on maths as the teacher tests us every two weeks. How should I be catching up with bio and chem topics and year 12 revsion when all my time is going to maths . Any advice is appareicated :smile:)

argh that sounds like it sucks, like everyone else has said though, talking to teachers might help. Also, when I'm feeling overwhelmed by how much I have to do I like to make schedules for myself. This way hopefully you can block out some time for bio and chem and also still leave some for maths (a larger proportion of time can go to maths if you think that's what you need). Also, especially if you have mocks coming up or anything then create a long-term plan, so day you'll revise 2 subsections of bio a week until you get to the mock and then you'll have done it all, or something like that. This always makes me feel better too because I feel way more in control of the situation and reassured by the fact that I know that I'll have time to do everything eventually 😄

Also, for maths, there's this guy on youtube called Zeeshan Zamurred and istg he's the best maths youtuber ever. He mostly does edexcel but i think he has some aqa too. He has a video for every edexcel chapter with explanations of the topic and then worked examples, he's saving me through stats and mechanics 🤞

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