Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask how big the jump from GCSE to A Level Maths is?

71 replies

HollieBush · 26/08/2017 17:04

I recently helped young NDN with some tutoring for her GCSEs. I was supposed to be helping her with essay subjects, but one day she came round and was really struggling with a Physics topic so I had a look with her and after that I started helping with Maths and Science too. I got A/A* for these subjects back in the day but was never really gifted in that area and to be honest luck was on my side with those results. I took all arts A levels and then did a degree in Politics and Economics. A few years ago I self-studied for a degree in Psychology whilst working full-time and got a first, so I know I can self-study as an adult if I have a goal to work towards.

I'd really like to take Maths further because I always felt I wasn't a "maths kind of person" but it all seemed so much clearer looking at it again as an adult and I would feel confident about getting a top mark on a GCSE paper these days. I am genuinely interested in learning more maths as I feel there is a whole new perspective on the world out there that I closed myself off from, but will not be motivated without a goal, hence wanting to do an exam. However, I confess to being proud/vain and not wanting to do A Level maths if there isn't a least a good chance I would get an A Blush (I know, utterly ridiculous but am old enough now to know my faults).

Is an A at Maths A level for 'gifted' mathematicians only? Could an adult of a good-but-not-great natural standard get an A with self-study?

OP posts:
PurpleDaisies · 26/08/2017 17:09

It's a huge jump. Students going in with less than a b usually fail. Maht going in with As get Cs, and lots don't make it to A2.

Why don't you do the course anyway and if you don't feel you'll get an A, don't sit tre exam? Alternatively you could try making peace with the fact that getting below an A is perfectly fine if you've tried your best.

PurpleDaisies · 26/08/2017 17:10

Sorry for the really odd typos there!

Original poster
HollieBush · 26/08/2017 17:14

Alternatively you could try making peace with the fact that getting below an A is perfectly fine if you've tried your best

Which, of course, is exactly the sort of advice I'd give anyone else Blush

Thank you, the huge jump is what I was expecting to hear - without anything particular to base this on, I suspect I'd be a B/C candidate (which, of course, is NOT a bad result at all... totally foolish attitude).

OP posts:
Balletmummy25 · 26/08/2017 17:19

I did maths gcse and A level

Got an A* at GCSE and a B in a levels.

The jump was substantial.

PurpleDaisies · 26/08/2017 17:19

I'm interested as to why you think you'd get a B/C without having even looked at the course material.

It's really daft to not pursue something you think you'd enjoy for fear of "failing". Maybe this would be a good time to ditch that attitude and just go for it? You've got nothing at all to lose.

BackforGood · 26/08/2017 17:24

Friend went from A at GCSE (had been expecting / predicted an A*) to a 'U' at AS.....
Obviously lots don't, but I think it is a notoriously difficult jump.

However, I agree with PurpleDaisies that it would be daft not to pursue it 'in case you don't get an A'
The fact you've casually dropped in the fact you studied for a degree around working FT, and came out with a 1st is testament to how driven, and how able you are. Very different from a 17 yr od going into 6th form for the first time.

arethereanyleftatall · 26/08/2017 17:26

When i did it, 20 years ago, it was ridiculously insanely massive.
I got 100% for my maths gcse at 13 yo (I know score because did in school for practise), an A at gcse; I found it extremely easy. Then 2 x C for pure and advanced maths a levels. Soooo much harder. Sorry.

andintothefire · 26/08/2017 17:30

Can you still do a Maths AS level? My knowledge of this is at least 15 years out of date, but from my recollection there was a very big jump needed to get a good grade at A level but it is not quite such a huge leap to do Maths at AS level. Having said that, I remember my first term of A level Maths being quite tricky. It then seemed to "click" however.

ZerbaPadnaTigre · 26/08/2017 17:30

I got an A in GCSE maths with no effort at all. I did nowhere near enough work but still more work than I'd ever done for AS level and I got an E.

It's a big jump but you've got no way of knowing if there's a chance of getting an A or not unless you try. Study it because you want to learn and you can always decide to not take the exams if you're struggling to get the grade you want in practice papers.

Paddybare · 26/08/2017 17:32

I got an A at GCSE and wasn't particularly stretched. AS level was a whole different matter, I got a low D and gave the subject up. The jump was huge for me, I really struggled to understand the new concepts.

PurpleDaisies · 26/08/2017 17:32

Can you still do a Maths AS level?

Yes but the first year of AS is identical to A2 so I'm not sure that affects the jump...

Glumglowworm · 26/08/2017 17:40

YABU to think anything lower than an A is failure

I was naturally good at maths at school but stupidly did all humanities subjects for a-levels and degree. I did attempt maths AS level as an evening course about 10 years ago. It would've only been a couple of years after I graduated and I'd done work based qualifications in the meantime so wasn't as unaccustomed to studying as I am now although it was several years since I'd done anything more than basic maths. I found it a huge leap, and ended up failing the first exam (actually failing not just not getting an A). I had life stuff going on which didn't help and I ended up quitting before sitting the summer exams.

mareemallory · 26/08/2017 17:47

I'm about to start a Maths Higher (i.e. the Scottish equivalent to an AS level) for a career change, having previously done humanities A levels and a History degree. I had to have an interview at the college and they felt that having finished a degree in anything at all meant I'd be able to cope. I would think that studying Politics, Economics and Psychology at university would all involve significantly more Maths than I've done since GCSE so in theory if I can do it then so can you - and I'm similar to you in that I would feel absolutely terrible if I did this and only scraped a pass. Feel free to check in again this time next year to see how my overconfidence pans out...

Original poster
HollieBush · 26/08/2017 17:48

I know I'm being ridiculous. I think I've got to a ripe old age now but still don't want to ruin my straight A/First record. Blush When I did the Psychology degree it was because I had mentioned to my boss that I was thinking of doing one because I thought it looked really interesting and she said she would fund it if I carried on working as she could tell I was starting to think about moving on. I'm inherently lazy when it comes to studying but also stupidly proud even as an adult, and so did my usual leaving everything to the last minute and then blitzed it (used annual leave and locked myself in my flat before exams and barely bothered getting dressed each day) because I realised "no, you have not changed and no matter how much you find this interesting, you will be annoyed if you don't get a first".

But you are right, I do want to stretch my brain mathematically just to see where it could go, so should just get over myself and give it a go.

Don't suppose anyone has any recommendations for online/self-study courses as I know I will still need an exam to aim towards?

OP posts:
Witchend · 26/08/2017 17:59

How long ago did you do it? Because you may find a shock if you went back, how much you've forgotten.

I was an was A (noA*), would have expected to get pretty much full marks in every paper a year early, then did additional maths in year 11, then did maths and further.
I never really noticed a jump until first year uni when I found the pure side suddenly needed working at.
I didn't notice any jump in the mechanics even at uni.

However I wouldn't expect to be able to walk back and do it without looking. Formula and methods I had at my finger tips would need to be looked up and relearnt.
Dd1 has just done GCSE, but some of the stuff uses different terminology etc.

NewDaddie · 26/08/2017 17:59

There was far more maths at a-level but it definitely wasn't much harder and definitely not a big step up. At degree level maths becomes more abstract and that's where the step up is.

Saying that for a mature postgrad student I actually think that you should like you could cope with maths at degree level but I would recommend taking it part time and you would need to do catch up reading between modules.

bigbluebus · 26/08/2017 18:35

DS got an A for GCSE Maths and a B for A level a couple of years ago. He found GCSE quite easy but A level was much harder.

Rufustherenegadereindeer1 · 26/08/2017 18:50

Ds1 did A level maths

Crashed and burned at AS level and dropped it

Shame as he was good at maths...i think it went much too fast for him on a personal level

Original poster
HollieBush · 27/08/2017 09:13

Witchend and NewDaddie - you sound like you are naturally super good at maths so maybe don't realise how hard others find it because everyone else is saying there's a big jump and you two seem not to have noticed that... so not sure how to take the degree level Shock comment!

I'm going to have a look at what I can find online for A level and see if I can make sense of it - thanks very much for all the feedback.

OP posts:
BitOutOfPractice · 27/08/2017 09:42

I've got a dd doing A levels at the moment and I think the step up is big in all subjects nowadays. But she tells me that her friends say maths a level Is a whole new ball game

SandyY2K · 27/08/2017 09:50

It's a massive jump. Unless a person got an A* or an A at GCSE level, several places won't even let you take the A level.

My DD has friends who got a B and they are struggling a A level and likely to be asked told to drop it at this stage.

ForalltheSaints · 27/08/2017 10:51

It was a large enough jump from O to A level in my day, so I expect it will still be, even with the dumbing down of A levels.

Welshrainbow · 27/08/2017 11:01

It's a huge jump but not as big as pre A1/A2. I got an a* at GCSE and struggled to get a halfway good grade at A-level maths (admittedly 20 years ago) even though I went on to get a first class degree in chemistry and a PhD involving a lot of maths. If you are interested though and would like to do it why not try it, it's good to challenge yourself. I often think about resitting a-level maths.

Skinandbones · 27/08/2017 11:02

This was about 5 yrs ago, so I don't know how much the papers have changed.
Ds & dd both extremely good at maths and had beeno from a young age, both got A in gcse's, both took A level maths both dropped out after first year. They just couldn't get on with it.

theEagleIsLost · 27/08/2017 11:07

If you have some money - I'd look at the OU courses for maths

www.open.ac.uk/courses/find/mathematics-and-statistics

You don't have to do full degree but can get certificates or diplomas - and can start with an access style course.

Swipe left for the next trending thread