The Student Room Group

Maths a level help

I'm going to be the first person at my school who'll have taken Maths a level early as far back as anyone at the school can confirm (20+ years). I'm more than confident I can score at least 90% on pure, and I'm aiming for 95%, but the applied section is really worrying me and I really don't want to get anything other than an A*. Can anyone offer any advice or console me? Pls

Reply 1

Original post
by AltAccount00
I'm going to be the first person at my school who'll have taken Maths a level early as far back as anyone at the school can confirm (20+ years). I'm more than confident I can score at least 90% on pure, and I'm aiming for 95%, but the applied section is really worrying me and I really don't want to get anything other than an A*. Can anyone offer any advice or console me? Pls
If you’re already getting around 90%+ on pure, that’s a really strong position to be in. A lot of people find the applied side less straightforward, so you’re definitely not alone in that. Doing past papers and reviewing the topics where you lose marks usually makes a big difference with applied over time.
It’s understandable to feel pressure, especially being the first at your school to sit it early, but it sounds like you’ve prepared well already. Hopefully the applied section will start to feel more comfortable with practice.
Not sure which exam board you’re doing, but these websites helped me:
https://alevelmathsrevision.com/maths-categorised-exam-questions/#
They have categorised exam questions (mostly OCR and Edexcel, but suitable for all UK exam boards), as well as A* practice questions for pure, mechanics and statistics, plus notes and topic walkthrough videos.
Also, this one was huge help too: https://www.examsolutions.net/courses/
It’s also worth going through the specification on your exam board’s website so you know exactly what you’re expected to cover.
Hope this helps, and wishing you all the best!

Reply 2

Original post
by greyorbit
If you’re already getting around 90%+ on pure, that’s a really strong position to be in. A lot of people find the applied side less straightforward, so you’re definitely not alone in that. Doing past papers and reviewing the topics where you lose marks usually makes a big difference with applied over time.
It’s understandable to feel pressure, especially being the first at your school to sit it early, but it sounds like you’ve prepared well already. Hopefully the applied section will start to feel more comfortable with practice.
Not sure which exam board you’re doing, but these websites helped me:
https://alevelmathsrevision.com/maths-categorised-exam-questions/#
https://www.examsolutions.net/courses/
They have categorised exam questions (mostly OCR and Edexcel, but suitable for all UK exam boards), as well as A* practice questions for pure, mechanics and statistics, plus notes and topic walkthrough videos.
It’s also worth going through the specification on your exam board’s website so you know exactly what you’re expected to cover.
Hope this helps, and wishing you all the best!

Hey can u please give me advice for my application post on my profile? + I am a 29 year old man with autism and I am doing a Foundation tier board course AQA GCSE Mathematics the exam is in May and the course is (8300) what can I do to pass that?

Reply 3

Original post
by Superalex2
Hey can u please give me advice for my application post on my profile? + I am a 29 year old man with autism and I am doing a Foundation tier board course AQA GCSE Mathematics the exam is in May and the course is (8300) what can I do to pass that?

For AQA GCSE Maths Foundation (8300), the best way to improve your chances of passing is to focus on the core topics and practise regularly with past papers. Going through questions by topic and then doing full papers can really help you get used to the style of the exam and spot areas you need to work on.
Websites like Maths Genie and Corbett Maths are really useful for Foundation tier because they have clear explanations, practice questions, and videos for each topic. Working through the Foundation topics step by step and repeating questions you find difficult can make a big difference over time.
Can be found here: https://www.mathsgenie.co.uk/gcse.php (Maths Genie)
https://corbettmaths.com/contents/ (Corbett Maths)
Also, past papers can be found on the official AQA website: https://allaboutmaths-classic.aqa.org.uk/8300practicepapers
Also, try to practise under timed conditions sometimes so the real exam feels more familiar. Even steady progress each week can add up a lot by May.
Hope that helps, and all the best with your revision!
(edited 1 month ago)

Reply 4

Original post
by greyorbit
If you’re already getting around 90%+ on pure, that’s a really strong position to be in. A lot of people find the applied side less straightforward, so you’re definitely not alone in that. Doing past papers and reviewing the topics where you lose marks usually makes a big difference with applied over time.
It’s understandable to feel pressure, especially being the first at your school to sit it early, but it sounds like you’ve prepared well already. Hopefully the applied section will start to feel more comfortable with practice.
Not sure which exam board you’re doing, but these websites helped me:
https://alevelmathsrevision.com/maths-categorised-exam-questions/#
They have categorised exam questions (mostly OCR and Edexcel, but suitable for all UK exam boards), as well as A* practice questions for pure, mechanics and statistics, plus notes and topic walkthrough videos.
Also, this one was huge help too: https://www.examsolutions.net/courses/
It’s also worth going through the specification on your exam board’s website so you know exactly what you’re expected to cover.
Hope this helps, and wishing you all the best!

Thank you, I'm doing edexcel. I've been looking for categorised exam questioms but hated the ones on pmt so ty :smile:

Reply 5

No problem! I'm glad they helped. Wishing you all the very best!!

Quick Reply