Studying AS maths independently

[DMspecial]

Can anyone suggest resources to help with this, either online or good books? This is for one of my children who had an A* at GSCE and picks up mathematical concepts quickly. They are performing well in their A level subjects without working unusually hard. Therefore it does seem feasible without risking poorer grades in other subjects.

I'd have thought this would be quite feasible. Issues to sort out are:

1. Which exam board to choose? Probably best to go with the same one her school uses as then they're more likely to let her sit the exams there & teachers & friends may be able to help out if she gets stuck.

2. Confirm the school will let her take the exams there or find an alternative venue.

3. Options. Within AS maths there are compulsory modules in pure maths (core 1 and core 2) but for the third she can choose either statistics 1, mechanics 1 or decision 1.

4. Books - I'd get the text books for the exam board and modules she will take (or borrow them from the school) and work through those. Perhaps a CGP revision guide as well.

5. Online resources - don't know any, but I bet there are some. Don't forget to download specification, past papers and examiners reports for recent papers from the exam board site (most have past papers available, if not get some from the school).

The school have provided a textbook for them to look at and they completed the first section in a free period today. They tell me most of the subject areas have been covered at GSCE.

They would choose the school maths board as it would be easier to avoid any exam clashes/ deal with any that arose. There is a lunchtime workshop for those who are struggling with maths so that would be an option if needed. A family member has a maths degree, although they would not to be up-to-date with exam technique.

None of their friends currently do maths although one has expressed interest in doing so with my child - "so ... can tutor me as they did for GSCE" .

Two doing it together is probably more fun than one alone. The only topic I can think of off the top of my head that might need a bit more explanation would be calculus. As they say most of the rest has already been touched on at GCSE and the AS level questions are reasonably straightforward (not designed to catch you out), so I wouldn't think they would need a tutor. Your relative should be fine to give help as needed (maybe with the calculus if they get stuck) with/without knowledge of modern exams - maths really hasn't changed much. Use the past papers to get 'exam-style' experience.

Would they aim to do all three papers this summer, or spread them out a bit into next Jan?

Dd is doing Maths and Further Maths at A2. In her school they complete Maths A2 in the first year so sat AS maths in January after starting in September. They have a Y13 student join them this year to complete an extra A2 to enhance his Uni choices. Would dc's school have a similar option available?

Here's some Core 1 revision recordings from the further mathematics network.

I thought they only did online support stuff for further maths (rather than just maths), but it looks as though there are some A level maths resources there too. Probably worth a look.

Joining lessons would probably not be feasible, cetainly not for the full complement of lessons.

Snorkie I've looked at one of those sessions and they do look interesting, thank you. I've looked at some past papers and the decision 1 doesn't seem to look like anything I've seen in their homework so I suspect the choice is between statistics 1 and mechanics 1. I think they would aim for next January but I'll suggest getting a paper out of the way earlier.

Decision is supposed to be quite easy, but lots of people hate it with a vengence and don't really view it as real maths! Some people really don't get on with mechanics & others (but fewer I think) don't get on with statistics, but generally people find statistics easier (& if they did statistics GCSE it's very much easier). Mechanics is the one to choose if they are doing Physics though.

Doing one exam in June and two in Jan or vice versa sounds a good plan.

Best of luck to them!

I tutored my son through A level maths - core and mechanics. I found the course books the school used very good so I'd ask if you could see a copy of what they use. Past papers are available free on the internet (I could point you in the right direction).

Snorkie, my son did mechanics mainly because he was also doing physics but also because I told him if he wanted my help I'd prefer it if he were to do mechanics as I'm a bit of the view that decision and statistics are not real maths!!!! Still, not much point doing mechanics unless you're doing physics and intend to do physics-based subjects at uni.

Sorry, should read more carefully. I see they already have a text book. What is the school exam board for maths?

MEI have some fantastic online resourceshere might need the school to register so they can use them but you can ask!

Jesus Christ. If your son/daughter wants to study Maths, then tell them to sort it out. Unless they're some sort of child prodigy, they should be old enough to figure out what to do. Nevertheless, AS Maths is pretty god-damn easy. There's three units, C1 and C2 which are compulsory are a slight step up from GCSE. Then they can chose between Mechanics, Stats and Decision. If they're also doing Physics, Mechanic's is a safe bet, otherwise stats is probably the easiest.