The Student Room Group

I’m tied between which subject to drop?

I’m currently taking Maths, Physics, FM and design and technology.
I’ve been finding the workload fine but with such a crammed timetable i’m lacking any time to revise. I’m kind of struggling in FM and Physics but am finding D&T rather boring and not enjoyable,we alsohaven’t even been taught any of the actual written content yet.
I can’t decide on which to drop between FM and D&T. I enjoy FM much more but am only getting around 50-60% on all of our topic tests. I don’t know if the time gained from dropping D&T will help me improve my physics and FM grades with the revision i put in, or if im going to be stuck taking a subject i dont understand.

I would really appreciate any help 😁
Original post by felicino
I’m currently taking Maths, Physics, FM and design and technology.
I’ve been finding the workload fine but with such a crammed timetable i’m lacking any time to revise. I’m kind of struggling in FM and Physics but am finding D&T rather boring and not enjoyable,we alsohaven’t even been taught any of the actual written content yet.
I can’t decide on which to drop between FM and D&T. I enjoy FM much more but am only getting around 50-60% on all of our topic tests. I don’t know if the time gained from dropping D&T will help me improve my physics and FM grades with the revision i put in, or if im going to be stuck taking a subject i dont understand.
I would really appreciate any help 😁

Hi @felicino,

I think in this case it might be really useful to consider what your plans post A-Level are.

Further Maths is a great A-Level to have if you're planning to apply to highly competitive, maths/computer-based courses at top universities; but at the same time, lots of universities don't require it, and many UK schools don't offer the subject. Equally, you might find Design & Technology an easier subject in terms of content/revision than FM, but if you find it boring, it might be hard to motivate yourself to revise for it closer to exam time.

Do you think you're struggling with the material itself in FM? Or do you find that you simply don't have enough revision time to solidify what you've been taught in class, and you could improve your grade with more time?

Best of luck,
Eve (Kingston Rep).
Reply 2
Original post by felicino
I’m currently taking Maths, Physics, FM and design and technology.
I’ve been finding the workload fine but with such a crammed timetable i’m lacking any time to revise. I’m kind of struggling in FM and Physics but am finding D&T rather boring and not enjoyable,we alsohaven’t even been taught any of the actual written content yet.
I can’t decide on which to drop between FM and D&T. I enjoy FM much more but am only getting around 50-60% on all of our topic tests. I don’t know if the time gained from dropping D&T will help me improve my physics and FM grades with the revision i put in, or if im going to be stuck taking a subject i dont understand.
I would really appreciate any help 😁

Hello, sorry to hear about the A Level situation : ( As a fellow victim of physics and further maths, it can definitely be a bit much sometimes.

One very important consideration is that further maths becomes insanely difficult in Y13. The jump is quite big, and as a result, dropping another subject whilst keeping further maths is so highly discouraged in my school (and others). Also keep in mind that a lot of people drop further maths at the end of Y12. Many schools even have a requirement that you need to be working at an A in maths if you want to continue with further. The worst case scenario is that you drop DT, and then end up struggling more with further maths in Y13, but you can’t drop it because then you’d only have 2 subjects.
(edited 1 month ago)
Original post by Kingston Eve
Hi @felicino,
I think in this case it might be really useful to consider what your plans post A-Level are.
Further Maths is a great A-Level to have if you're planning to apply to highly competitive, maths/computer-based courses at top universities; but at the same time, lots of universities don't require it, and many UK schools don't offer the subject. Equally, you might find Design & Technology an easier subject in terms of content/revision than FM, but if you find it boring, it might be hard to motivate yourself to revise for it closer to exam time.
Do you think you're struggling with the material itself in FM? Or do you find that you simply don't have enough revision time to solidify what you've been taught in class, and you could improve your grade with more time?
Best of luck,
Eve (Kingston Rep).

ALL schools in England can offer Further Maths - please don't give wrong information :smile:
Hello, sorry to hear about the A Level situation : ( As a fellow victim of physics and further maths, it can definitely be a bit much sometimes.
One very important consideration is that further maths becomes insanely difficult in Y13. The jump is quite big, and as a result, dropping another subject whilst keeping further maths is so highly discouraged in my school (and others). Also keep in mind that a lot of people drop further maths at the end of Y12. Many schools even have a requirement that you need to be working at an A in maths if you want to continue with further. The worst case scenario is that you drop DT, and then end up struggling more with further maths in Y13, but you can’t drop it because then you’d only have 2 subjects.

No state school can insist on a cetain grade for progression to Year 13 - it's illegal.

No-one drops FMaths in many schools - the OP needs to decide on a degree path before making a decision
Original post by felicino
I’m currently taking Maths, Physics, FM and design and technology.
I’ve been finding the workload fine but with such a crammed timetable i’m lacking any time to revise. I’m kind of struggling in FM and Physics but am finding D&T rather boring and not enjoyable,we alsohaven’t even been taught any of the actual written content yet.
I can’t decide on which to drop between FM and D&T. I enjoy FM much more but am only getting around 50-60% on all of our topic tests. I don’t know if the time gained from dropping D&T will help me improve my physics and FM grades with the revision i put in, or if im going to be stuck taking a subject i dont understand.
I would really appreciate any help 😁

I think you need to decide the degree you want to study before making a decision.
Original post by Muttley79
ALL schools in England can offer Further Maths - please don't give wrong information :smile:

To my knowledge, all schools in England can offer Further Maths, but not all schools do (whether that's due to student interest or teaching availability).

A lot of highly competitive universities don't explicitly require Further Mathematics for their Mathematics courses due to this issue of availability; for example, the Mathematics BA at Oxford University requires an A* in Mathematics or an A*/A* in Mathematics and Further Mathematics if Further Mathematics is available to the student: https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/undergraduate/courses/course-listing/mathematics

From 2009-2018, a programme called the Further Mathematics Support Programme was ran throughout England to encourage more colleges in England to offer the subject at A-Level. According to their website, 'Between 2005 and 2018 the proportion of state-funded schools and colleges in England offering A levels that offered A level Further Mathematics increased from below 40% to 70%.'. Whilst this is a significant increase, that does ultimately mean that there are still many schools in England that don't offer Further Maths: https://mei.org.uk/case-studies/further-mathematics-support-programme/
(edited 1 month ago)
Reply 7
Original post by Muttley79
ALL schools in England can offer Further Maths - please don't give wrong information :smile:

I’m sure they can but many don’t. This isn’t wrong. I have met people who go to schools that simply don’t have the teaching staff nor the time nor the number of students needed to run further maths as a subject in their schools.
Reply 8
Original post by Muttley79
No state school can insist on a cetain grade for progression to Year 13 - it's illegal.
No-one drops FMaths in many schools - the OP needs to decide on a degree path before making a decision

It’s not for progression to Y13 in general, it’s on whether they are allowed to carry on with further maths or not. And again, I quite literally know schools that do this. Even in my neighbouring school, all the students doing further maths A level sit the actual maths A level at the end of Y12 and if they don’t get an A or an A*, they are not offered further maths at Y13. They have to drop further maths. In my school, over half the class dropped further maths at the end of Y12. In my friend’s school, the numbers were similar.
I’m sure they can but many don’t. This isn’t wrong. I have met people who go to schools that simply don’t have the teaching staff nor the time nor the number of students needed to run further maths as a subject in their schools.

It isn't - every school im England can arrange teaching through AMSP.

https://amsp.org.uk/teachers/a-level-further-mathematics/student-tuition/

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