Can I do maths A level as an adult?

[Hotandbothered222]

For a while now I’ve had a hankering to do maths A level. Just for fun - I didn’t really like maths until I had a great teacher for GCSE and then it started to click into place.

That was a number of years ago so I’d definitely need a refresher before attempting A level. Now there are all sorts of apps and things available that I have no experience of - can anyone suggest the best way to revise the GCSE material before I attempt anything further?

Yes, you can do anything you put your mind to. I believe in you. Follow your dreams.

Maybe get a few lessons from a Maths tutor?

https://mathsgenie.co.uk/gcse/maths/edexcel/worksheets

This is a good web page to work through GCSE topics from easy to hard.

I'd also get the higher revision booklet from CGP

CGP also do something online called Mathsbusters. It shows videos of how to do each topic and then you answer questions. I think the questions are more challenging than maths genie but you will need to be able to tackle trickier questions if you want to do A level.

Good luck with it all.

@didntlikeanyofthesuggestions thanks 😆

I’m looking for online resources really - tiktok seems popular but I don’t really know who to follow/what’s useful

Thanks @EducatingArti that’s the sort of thing I’m after

Of course you can! I had to resit one of my GCSEs to get into a degree course.

No regrets. As long you put 100% anything is doable 😊 good luck 🤞

Of course op! You are the sum of your actions!

Yes! Maths A-level is logistically the most easy A-level to self study because it is all exams - no coursework or practicals.

There are loads of YouTube channels that cover the A-level maths curriculum. All the exam boards do maths but the content is very similar between them.

If you want a really simple path do this...

1 - TL maths GCSE to A-level bridging the gap videos. Watch the playlist. Also search for 'A-level maths summer work' and find a school that has posted their summer bridging work questions and complete the workbook. https://www.tlmaths.com/home/gcse-to-a-level-maths-bridging-the-gap

2 - Pete Hart's Edexcel playlists. Not the most exciting but he has a video for each section of the textbook which makes it really easy to follow along as a self studier. Buy a copy of the Edexcel textbook (start with Pure Year 1) and watch each video and complete all the questions in the book.
https://www.youtube.com/@petehartmaths/playlists

Use AI (any of them) if you get stuck on a solution. With the obvious disclaimer of not to take the solutions as 100% correct but they are pretty good on that level of maths questions. Really useful if you have made a mistake or can't work out the next step in a solution when you don't have a real person to ask.

If you do all this you might not need to pay for a tutor or you can just focus on any specifics you struggle with.

If you want to sit the exams you will need to arrange for and pay for them yourself. There are private exam centres tailored towards home educated students that are set up for private candidates. You could also approach local schools or colleges to see if you could sit the exams as a private candidate but I can imagine they will make it difficult with you being an adult (safeguarding etc). Past papers and mark schemes are available on the Edexcel website.

Great advice, thanks! Also hadn’t even crossed my mind about using AI - it’s all so different now to 20 years ago!