Can i self study+Achieve an A* in further maths in a year?

I usually always achieved 9s in gcse maths, but in the real exam i flopped badly and achieved a 7 (my college requires an 8 to take FM). I aspire to study at Cambridge to study computer science but Further Maths is required. I've already learnt AS Maths Pure this summer (could've finished the whole a-level but got lazy). How realistic do you think it is for me to achieve an A* in further maths by the end of the year? (studying+sitting privately), since I won't beable to get a predicted grade to apply to Cambridge.

You can also talk to your college and explain the situation, I'm sure there'd be some leeway

You can. I'm in a similar situation, I started studying maths when gcses finished and in three months I've finished all of a level and all of core pure, and i'm averaging 90%+ in past papers. just buy the official textbook and work through slowly and understand all the concepts and how to do everything

i'e attempted this but unfortunately my college is really strict. i'll aim to finish maths+fm on my own and sit fm at the end of year 12. i will be trying to prove myself worthy though, competitions like smc, bhpo, etc

How many A levels are you sitting in total, and in which years? Cambridge aren't keen on people splitting their A levels in general because they want to see that people can cope with a "tough" workload (e.g. all A levels taken together), although people at schools where they take 4 A levels in total with Maths in Year 12 and FM taken in Year 13 with 2 other A levels are usually OK.

You don't need to prove yourself through SMC or other competitions. They can look good on applications, but in my opinion are not as useful as simply acing the entrance exam, which will be easier to do if you dedicate less time to SMC. The reason people going far in SMC tend to have high acceptance rates to G5 unis is because they simply have passion and likely dedicate far more time on average to "normal" subjects than other people, it will improve your application but not as much as you think. I'm aiming for maths at cambridge and I won't be taking SMC at all. Just do well in your subjects and ace the entrance exam

What other superciriculars do you recommend then? I heard they were really important

I usually always achieved 9s in gcse maths, but in the real exam i flopped badly and achieved a 7 (my college requires an 8 to take FM). I aspire to study at Cambridge to study computer science but Further Maths is required. I've already learnt AS Maths Pure this summer (could've finished the whole a-level but got lazy). How realistic do you think it is for me to achieve an A* in further maths by the end of the year? (studying+sitting privately), since I won't beable to get a predicted grade to apply to Cambridge.

How many A levels are you sitting in total, and in which years? Cambridge aren't keen on people splitting their A levels in general because they want to see that people can cope with a "tough" workload (e.g. all A levels taken together), although people at schools where they take 4 A levels in total with Maths in Year 12 and FM taken in Year 13 with 2 other A levels are usually OK.