Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

Original poster

Yearly warning not to take A-level maths with less than a 7 at GCSE

463 replies

noblegiraffe · 20/08/2024 14:49

GCSE results day and therefore A-level sign-up day is coming.

So with that in mind I just thought I'd post the table of conversions from GCSE to A-level results for maths to show that there is a strong correlation. This is because A-level Maths basically starts with a quick review of grade 8/9 GCSE algebra content and then gets more difficult. Students starting with a 7 will have to work very hard to keep up, students with a 6 often flounder.

There are sixth forms and colleges that will accept students with a 6 onto A-level maths, but from many years of experience, this is not a good experience for the student. Many will drop out and switch courses early on (and therefore not appear in the results table), but some will struggle on for 2 years and then come out with a grade that really doesn't help them with university applications.

If you take A-level maths with a 6, even if you manage to complete the course (and a lot won't), about three quarters will get a D or below, with E the most common grade.

This data is from 2019 because obviously more recent data has been screwed up by covid.

If your child is keen to do maths, but gets a 6, please consider Core Maths which is designed to be taken alongside 3 A-levels and provides supportive maths content for A-level sciences and social sciences (e.g. psychology, geography).

If your child is going to do A-level maths (particularly if they are on a 7 but also 8/9), check that they have done summer bridging work so they hit the ground running in September.

Yearly warning not to take A-level maths with less than a 7 at GCSE
OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
dobblevit · 21/08/2024 07:02

Well done that 2.1% in the top left!!

bluefineliner · 21/08/2024 06:59

Maybe I can get a bit of advice here for DD16. She got a 9 in her maths mock (along with mostly other 9s) and has worked at a 9 consistently for the past 2 years. Loves maths.

However, she fell apart on paper one and missed a few (big) questions, which will have a huge impact on her grade now. She said papers 2 and 3 went very well, but nothing will pull her grade back to a 9, or even an 8. We are trying to work with her on this as she is adamant she still wants to do A level maths but I think she may get a 7.

I have read these posts to her, talked about how hard it is etc etc but she is so upset she messed up on her favourite subject she is reluctant to not take it at A level. She is also taking chem and bio. Should I continue to put her off maths if it is a 7 tomorrow? We will obvs speak to her school about it at enrolment too.

mm81736 · 21/08/2024 01:51

It depends a bit on what on why you are doing it.aine people are just doing it as a 4th to support their main science subjects.
The other thing I will say is that rhe quality of maths teaching at A level can be, shall we say, mixed. At my dcs school the best teachers were teaching the FM students and the other sets were often taught by non maths specialists who struggled with the questions themselves

strangeandfamiliar · 21/08/2024 00:41

Good advice OP. Even if you do have the grades I think you really have to want to do it and be really motivated to do well. DD has a 9 in GCSE Maths but it was very hard work and she decided against A- level. She chose other subjects she enjoyed more, and achieved 3 A stars, which she is certain wouldn't have happened if she'd done Maths. DS got an 8 and also opted out of Maths A-level, as he didn't enjoy it and his teacher actually said he'd probably get a B. Like DD he chose Economics and other subjects he enjoyed more, and knew he could get A stars in.

Sibilantseamstress · 21/08/2024 00:15

This is my experience with my two children OP.

First child had a 7 at GCSE maths. She dropped out of A level maths after 3 weeks. It was a good decision. She swapped for Economics and went on to achieve an A*.

Second child had a 9 at GCSE maths. She is whizzing through A level Maths and Further Maths.

There is a big gap between a 7 and a 9. I know some people say they are all the old A range, but there really is a difference.

Anecdotes not withstanding, I think you are giving sound advice. The table you shared is an eye opener.

GabrielOakRose · 21/08/2024 00:03

Themillandbakery · 20/08/2024 15:04

My child achieved a 7 in GCSE decided against taking maths for A level - after a term he switched to maths and achieved an A* in his maths A level last year. So can be done.

Yes, it is done by 1% of pupils, as the table shows.

Original poster
noblegiraffe · 20/08/2024 23:33

Further maths GCSE wouldn't be a great predictor of A-level maths grade I think because there is such a variation in how it is delivered. Some schools seem to teach it properly, others just seem to enter kids and hope for the best with a bit of lunchtime coaching.

OP posts:
dizzydizzydizzy · 20/08/2024 23:33

bardosya · 20/08/2024 23:00

Either a stroke of luck or she's a hard worker. This won't be the case for many!

Show quote history

She’s a hard worker. She worked really hard for her GCSEs too . Like I said upthread, I put it down to her being a late developer.

bardosya · 20/08/2024 23:00

dizzydizzydizzy · 20/08/2024 15:17

DD2 got a 6 in GCSE maths and a B in A Level maths. She also got 5-6 in combined science and got B in both Biology and Chemistry.

Either a stroke of luck or she's a hard worker. This won't be the case for many!

steppemum · 20/08/2024 22:56

interesting comment about doing the summer course work.

dd2 is waiting for GCSE results. She is autistic and found the exams season a nightmare. She struggled enormously with so many subjects and revision.

predicted 8 in GCSE maths, was doing the further maths classes for a while, but it clashed with something else that they insisted she did (support for other subjects)
She is unlikely to get above a 7 (and may even get a 6) due to the general difficulty of the exam season.

She's done the bridging summer work for A level maths, and said it was all ridiculously easy.

It is hard to know if she should go for maths or not, but it is her natural subject, her happy place.

caringcarer · 20/08/2024 22:13

I wouldn't recommend students taking Maths A level unless achieved an 8 of above at GCSE or 7 if very good reason didn't do better eg bereavement, no teacher etc. I've seen too many students get 2 A grades at A levels in other subjects and then a D or even E in Maths. It often means they don't get first choice uni.

Pythag · 20/08/2024 21:46

At my school we now require a grade 8 to do maths A-level. This is as much to emphasise the seriousness that they must take maths A-level as any other reason. It also means that those in year 11 who want to do maths often have to step up!

I think maths A-level can be done on a grade 7, but it will require a huge amount of work and often a lot of extra support at school. Some schools can provide that support, we don’t really have enough timetabled hours for A-level to help those that are really struggling.

Even with a grade 8, the amount of work needed comes as a surprise to students. We give our new year 12s an algebra test in the second week and make it a bit spicy to scare them. I will read my classes the Algebra Riot Act, at which point a few people will realise maths isn’t really for them and change to psychology or geography or something.

I know this sounds a bit cruel, but I think it is kinder to students to be honest with them! The students who put the work in, do end up really loving it though!

Original poster
noblegiraffe · 20/08/2024 19:42

BareBelliedSneetch · 20/08/2024 17:37

On A-level results day they said maths was the most popular a-level, and 42% of people taking it got A or A-star. which doesn’t really tally with needing to have an 8/9 to get a good grade! Unless a LOT of people are getting 8/9 at GCSE?

Don't forget lots of students don't take A-levels! The cohort of students who take A-levels is going to be more academic than the general population to start with.

OP posts:
Original poster
noblegiraffe · 20/08/2024 19:20

Hoppinggreen · 20/08/2024 17:25

Thank you for this info
DS is going into Y11 and DH keen for him to do maths at A level the year after but I have heard that you need to really love Maths to do well at A Level and while DS will probably get a 6 (maybe 7 on a good day) hes a bit "meh" about it (although he's meh about most things to be honest). I have urged caution and DH has told me I am being negative, I have kicked the can down the road by suggesting we see what DS Maths teacher thinks

If he's a 6, maybe a 7, and is a bit 'meh' then I have seen lots of similar students who were made to do maths by a well-meaning parent. The kid thinks that turning up to lessons will be enough, do not realise that they not only actually need to do the homework properly, but will need to do shedloads of work on top of the homework to keep up. They get a U in the January exams, promise their parents that they'll turn thing around, not turn things around and then do the same in the summer exams.

Hopefully at that point they drop out and do something else.

OP posts:
Octavia64 · 20/08/2024 18:19

If you have done gcse further maths and done well you won't need bridging work.

Good idea to look at anything you found difficult though

hels71 · 20/08/2024 18:03

DD hopes to do maths. She is predicted a 9 in both maths and further maths. However, she has no bridging work....

TheRosesAreInBloom · 20/08/2024 18:03

My son got a 7 in his GCSE. He just got his A level result and got B….it did cost £2500 in tutoring though - this time last year he was predicted a
D at best.

Be cautious would be my advice!

sleekcat · 20/08/2024 17:59

My sister got an A for maths GCSE and struggled with A Level maths.

My son got a C for GCSE maths and was discouraged from it at A level. However, he was allowed to do it. He got an A at A Level and a first in an integrated masters at a very good uni that's hard to get into. Obviously the statistics are true, but they aren't everything.

MirandaWest · 20/08/2024 17:56

I think actually liking maths is important as well. Both DS and DD got 8 at GCSE Maths. DD knew there was no way she would want to do A Level maths so didn’t. DS did do it but definitely didn’t love it. He did A Levels in 2022 and I think grade boundaries were favourable to him as he (just) got an A. Pretty sure he wouldn’t have got that either this year or last year.

yorktown · 20/08/2024 17:52

BareBelliedSneetch · 20/08/2024 17:37

On A-level results day they said maths was the most popular a-level, and 42% of people taking it got A or A-star. which doesn’t really tally with needing to have an 8/9 to get a good grade! Unless a LOT of people are getting 8/9 at GCSE?

Most of the students will have an 8 or a 9, the numbers for 2019 are in the table. Then another chunk on 7 may have been high 7s/unlucky 7s.
I think in other subjects there will be more students in the 5-7 range, so maybe less top grades.

BareBelliedSneetch · 20/08/2024 17:37

On A-level results day they said maths was the most popular a-level, and 42% of people taking it got A or A-star. which doesn’t really tally with needing to have an 8/9 to get a good grade! Unless a LOT of people are getting 8/9 at GCSE?

GHSP · 20/08/2024 17:36

This is fascinating. Do you have a similar chart for further maths?

Octavia64 · 20/08/2024 17:34

GCSE further maths is basically the beginning of a level maths.

They will see exactly the same content again just a bit faster.

I don't have stats but in most schools in order to be considered for the gcse further they would need to be top set/ on track for an 8 or 9 and therefore ok with a level maths.

It is still a step up and moves fast!

fashionqueen0123 · 20/08/2024 17:32

Hoppinggreen · 20/08/2024 17:25

Thank you for this info
DS is going into Y11 and DH keen for him to do maths at A level the year after but I have heard that you need to really love Maths to do well at A Level and while DS will probably get a 6 (maybe 7 on a good day) hes a bit "meh" about it (although he's meh about most things to be honest). I have urged caution and DH has told me I am being negative, I have kicked the can down the road by suggesting we see what DS Maths teacher thinks

I wouldn’t do it. (Admittedly I did A levels maths as the first year who did AS levels and they made the syllabus too hard and it got changed the next year 🤯) but it was still like learning a new language. I got an A at gcse and found it mainly quite easy except for a few A/A* bits but didn’t have to revise much etc. it came naturally to me. One of my best subjects.

Then A level I got an E at AS and dropped it. It was just awful!

WinkyTinky · 20/08/2024 17:32

I got an A at GCSE (many many years ago, admittedly) and always got top marks in my class, but at A-level I only just scraped a D. It was a massive leap and I could not cope. Unfortunately the spiral continued and I did a physics degree on an extremely shaky maths foundation and I only narrowly avoided failing the whole thing. Why the university let me in with D in both maths and physics I'll never know! Maths is hard. Be prepared.