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Original poster

Asking maths teachers: does the new GCSE coming in Sept replace GSCE Further Maths as A level prep?

29 replies

Hebegebes · 14/03/2015 15:20

I have read with interest several times here that high ability students are well advised to do GCSE Further Maths in addition to normal maths in order to have an easier transition to A level; and that not to have it will place them at a disadvantage or even cause them to struggle.

My DC's school does not offer further maths; I have no idea how common it is not to offer it (and would be interested to know). I had been going to ask in school about it, but our recent info evening on GCSE options told us that there was increased content in the new maths GCSE, for which extra maths timetabling for everyone was required.

I am wondering - does the extra content bridge the gap between GCSE and A level in the same way that the Further Maths does? If you had a child who definitely wants to do Maths A level and is thinking of Maths at uni, is the Further Maths GCSE or at least some extra tutoring still advisable?

OP posts:
noblegiraffe · 14/03/2015 18:55

My school does further maths with the top two sets in the normal time timetabled for maths but we are lucky enough to have enough high ability students to have a whole groups sit it. I have heard other schools run sessions at lunchtime or after school for a small group of the most able students to cover it.

ragged · 14/03/2015 18:28

It depends on the school how they timetable it, you need to ask.

Original poster
Hebegebes · 14/03/2015 18:00

I really appreciate the reply, noble giraffe, many thanks. I had felt completely in the dark.

I will probably see how DC copes during the first term of Year 10 in September before thinking about a tutor. The school is doing triple science in a double slot so I am reluctant to heap pressure on him.

I suppose if he is not actually having to take an exam in the Further maths, but rather just keeping up with the syllabus it might not be too much.

Do schools that do both maths and further maths at GCSE have extra timetable allocation or do they do it in the space everyone has for maths?

OP posts:
noblegiraffe · 14/03/2015 16:05

The extra content in the new GCSE isn't the same as further maths. It stops short of calculus, for example, and has stuff that further maths doesn't, like Venn diagrams for probability. I think further maths has more in the way of actual A-level content, like calculus, and the factor theorem. However, while I expect that the new GCSE will be better preparation for A-level than the old GCSE, it is hard to say how much better, or whether it will be better than old GCSE + further maths because there has been a big row over how the new GCSE will actually be examined and there is currently an OFQUAL investigation into the sample assessment material released by the exam boards.

We don't actually know how challenging the new exams will be, and a big issue with the old GCSE was that the higher paper simply doesn't contain enough questions at the higher end to be sufficiently challenging. If there is new content, but the questions on them are trivial, then the value will be lost.

Another issue which means this question can't be answered properly is that the maths A-level will also be changing. They have put this back to 2017, but if they make the A-level much harder (which is probable), then the gap between GCSE and A-level could be as wide as ever. There doesn't seem to be much joined up thinking going on, so I'm not hopeful.

If your DC is currently in Y9, then they are going to be hit by both the new GCSE and new A-level. Schools are not well prepared (through no fault of their own, I hasten to add). If you have a child who wants to do maths at Uni, then if you can afford to get a tutor to take them through the further maths GCSE then I think that would probably be a good insurance plan.