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

Yep. Dad's friend started 'A' levels maths with a 6 at GCSE. Lasted a few weeks then switched to Core Maths, which she really liked and did well in.

I got an A in maths at 'O' level though no way would have been able to do 'A' levels. Brain just isn't wired that way.

Oops, sorry about the typos.
The question really is how much does innate non verbal reasoning ability matter in higher level Maths?

@noblegiraffe - how do we know if they will be good enough for Further Maths?
DD is predicted a 9 in GCSE Maths and has hardly but any effort in so far. However, school have insisted on OCR Ad Maths for top set and she is really having to work for that one (working very last minute). All the Sixth Forms we applied to just require a 9 for Further Maths A level. She is not sure she is good enough for Further Maths (her older siblings are gifted mathematicians so she thinks she is rubbish). She has applied to two schools doing IB Maths Analysis Higher, is that somehow half way between A level Maths and Further Maths? If so, that might suit her. I have tried to read up on the IB but not sure. I think standard A level Maths she will be fine with.
In addition, does there non verbal reasoning ability matter? DD claims she just cannot do shape stuff like her older siblings. She gets top scores in verbal realising on CAT4 type testing, but more like just top 25% in non verbal, sometimes even only top 30 per cent. She is scared of it.

Thanks. I did it roughly. So 3 children out of 70 off didn’t manage a C in a cohort requiring grade 7. It is an exceptional comp 6th form. Obviously we don’t know how many had 7,8,9

Almost 70 - 69 or 68? 4% is not 4 kids. Presumably those percentages are rounded up or down, 4% of 69 is 2.76 so presumably 3 students got less than a C. Which does seem like a reasonable if not stellar result.

Grade boundaries do vary between subjects - in 2023 DS1 got a 9 in Maths and required at least 90% of maximum marks (he was in the middle of the grade having missed out on 14 out of 28 marks over the minimum required for the grade. 9s in Sciences were all on marks between 70-80%.

@Hollyhedge I agree. My son is taking maths and FM a level having got a 9 at GCSE and has never sat any form of maths competition.

His school either don’t do it or he doesn’t do it. I imagine some schools don’t and prob differ vastly in their approach and how many they put in etc He is in an inter city comp if that is relevant. I don’t think something which isn’t universally available would be a good gauge of suitability

Most of those with a 7 in ds's class are finding A level maths difficult. It's taking up a lot of their time.

My 13 year old did it (to get out of a lesson) but didn't revise or look at the questions. She literally had no idea what she was going into. She seems good at maths so far but is only in Yr 8. She got a silver which I thought wasn't bad given she had not done anything for it.

Support for UKMT varies by school though. Some don't do it. Some get kids to sit it but do no prep for that style of question. And there are plenty of people who have done maths degrees who hated UKMT and didn't do well in it. Whilst there is clearly a high overlap between success in A level and success in UKMT I wouldn't want to scare people into thinking you need to be at Gold plus in order to have any chance at A level.

@Hollyhedge, UKMT is a annual competition run by the Maths Trust. I would be surprised if your son wasn't aware of it. Good mathematicians will usually get a Gold (Bronze of Silver for lower scores) and score highly to enter into the next rounds. The follow on rounds are usually for gifted mathematicians who would not struggle with Alevel or FM A levels.

ALevel is different to GCSE, the content is more abstract which is why you need the "maths" brain. Maths A level is very popular but definitely worth looking into the course content and discuss with teachers at school.

I think the amount of content in A level maths gets a little overlooked as the focus is on the difficulty. I know someone who has taught both maths and psychology at A level for many years. They say the level of challenge and the amount of content is incomparable between the two.

I have a daughter taking Maths and further Maths at A levels. She is expected to get A*s in both. She and other students like her, have to take the Maths A level, not just the Further Maths A level. I feel like they make the grade boundary harder for everyone else. Some kids just have brains born for Maths and there is a huge gulf between them and their need to be stretched and the rest of us who could benefit from more years of learning Math without the penalty of a poor A level grade.

Maybe Maths for Business or Statistics for Social Sciences would be useful A levels.

People do get upset when their kids with 5s and 6s are warned off doing A levels (stem in particular it seems). They’re very decent GCSE grades but it’s only right that they go into their sixth form years well informed of what’s coming.
We need to remember what the A is short for. They’re designed to be challenging courses and there are other options out there for students who won’t succeed in getting good enough grades for their next step in life

My son got a 9. He is doing maths and FM and is on track for an A star for both. There have been one or two concepts he has struggled with and a tutor (uni student) sorted that out. Sometimes it just takes someone new to explain the concepts in a different way. He had maybe 6 or sessions I think. Totally worth it.

I’ve noticed at DS’ first choice sixth form which requires a 7 for A level almost 70 children do Maths A level. 46% A-A, 70% A-B, 96% A*- C. Would be interested to know how that maps to GCSE. So 4 children in the cohort didn’t manage a C which seems decent out of 70 odd, v decent

Well that’s just go to show how we are all different. Seriously it’s not a big deal. People shouldn’t get so upset they feel the need to be offensive to others.

Eek. No idea what that competition you mention is, not heard of it. My DS really, really wants to do maths A level and is on for a 7…some of these stories are concerning me but I do not want to stop him. He gets a taster and bridging work so that might give him an idea.

Edited to say 7 with no help at home, no tutoring. not worked particularly hard but done all homework. If he starts it I’ll be v vigilant early weeks. I think he can start 4, which could be an idea in case it doesn’t work

I agree with this. My DD is super bright mathsy kid that naturally aces maths.

But for A-level she's had to WORK to get the results. She was already trying hard at GCSE but it came naturally. Even at A-level the concepts click but it's a huge course with a lot to learn.

It's sad because another girl we know worked so very very very hard at Maths A-level and for effort should have got an A* but no amount of tutoring, help, extra guidance, hours put in doing papers, she came out with a C.

I'd say don't do maths A-level unless you get a silver in the UKMT no problem, with no help, regularly, year after year, with no tutoring or help, ever. Otherwise it's going to be a real struggle. You need a genetic maths brain to do well at it. You can't 'put the effort' in if you haven't got the genetic predisposition.

It didn’t come across like that to me. They were just paraphrasing what had been said earlier…

@GabrielOakRose glad I've made you laugh...

Ok you're one of those who needs to be right... yes I was wrong happy???😂

Yes and you were wrong.