At KS5 we offer A-Level Mathematics and A-Level/AS-Level Further Mathematics. Both courses have 9 hours of lessons a fortnight, but students will also be expected to do independent learning and revision outside of this. We also offer GCSE resit classes for those students who need to resit in 6th form – these students are given 6 hours of lessons a fortnight.
A-Level Mathematics
A-level maths is a challenging and rewarding course that allows students to deepen their mathematical knowledge and develop their problem solving and reasoning skills. Many universities will look favourably on a A-level in mathematics, and it can open many prestigious courses to students. Students will cover a range of new topics as well as deepening their understanding of some elements of GCSE mathematics. The course is split up into core and applied units which are assessed in separate sections of the exam papers. We use the Edexcel exam board for A-Level and every student will have access to the digital versions of the textbooks that are used in lessons for independent study. They will also have the choice to purchase physical copies if they prefer.
Below is an overview of the topics covered at A-level:
Year 12
Year 13
At A-Level, students will complete two assessments every half term on the topics covered during that term. Students will also be expected to complete chapter reviews at the end of a section of work as homework. There will also be mock exams completed in January in both Year 12 and Year 13 to give students time to get used to the style of questions used at A-Level. Year 12 will complete another mock exam in the Summer.
Further Mathematics
Further Mathematics is an excellent course for those students in pursuing some sort of mathematical education after 6th form. It is very useful for those planning to study mathematics, physics, medicine or many other subjects at degree level or beyond. Many universities will be keen to accept students with further maths qualifications and appreciate that it is a very challenging qualification to achieve. It is common for students to choose this as a 4th subject and as a result, it can be completed as an AS-Level, rather than a full A-Level. This is a less time-consuming option for those students concerned about the work-load, that still gives you recognised qualification at the end of the course.
Further Maths has Core units of work and elective units in which students can choose from a range of core and applied topics that include Further Pure, Further Mechanics, Further Statistics, and Decision.
The topics covered in Further Mathematics are below:
Year 12
Year 13
In Further Maths, students will complete two assessments every half term on the topics covered during that term. Students will also be expected to complete chapter reviews at the end of a section of work as homework. There will also be mock exams completed in January in both Year 12 and Year 13 to give students time to get used to the style of questions used at A-Level. Year 12 will complete another mock exam in the Summer.
Equipment
For A-Level we recommend that students have a Casio fx-991EX scientific calculator as this will allow them to complete the complex statistical calculations required for the A-Level specification.
Resit
We also offer resit classes for students who did not achieve a Grade 4 or above at GCSE level and therefore need to re-take the qualification. These students will follow a more bespoke scheme of work as the small group size allows the teacher to focus on the topics that will be most useful for the students in question.