A level calculator?

[Sausagesandpeas]

DD is doing Alevel maths and has been told to buy a calculator. She obviously had a calculator for her GCSEs but apparently an A level one is different?
We haven’t been given any guidance on what to buy. Can anyone help please?

DD is doing A level maths and has been recommended a Casio FX991EX but I guess different schools may have different recommendations

@noblegiraffe may be best placed to advise.

I'm still waiting for DS1 to choose between two sixth forms. Then I will ask him to check with his teachers whether his current Casio scientific calculator is enough or whether he needs to buy a new one - as he's doing Maths, Further Maths and Physics. I think DS2 also needs a better calculator than the one he has at the moment - I think his current one probably does have the same functions but it looks rather flimsy and fiddly, and as if the user needs to press far more buttons for many functions than on DS1's commonly GCSE recommended Casio model.

I will also email their Maths teachers if they won't ask themselves, asking which model. I don't think telling students they need to get one and not giving them one or more examples of what fits the bill is reasonable, but I'll just say that I didn't study Maths past O level and I'm not confident of buying the right thing, so we need guidance.

We sell subsidised calculators through the school- one that's suitable for A-level maths, and one that's a bit cheaper and is good for A-level sciences. I'm assuming your school doesn't do this, but I think it's worth her confirming with her teacher if there's any specific brands they recommend.

I'm pretty sure it's this one they sell for A-level maths : https://www.casio.co.uk/catalog/product/view/id/1047/s/fx-991ex/category/171/

But I'd want to confirm before spending £30!

There were a few reasons why you need a new A level calculator but the only one I can remember is they have the probability distributions inbuilt. My son is about to start Y13 and has the Casio 991 EX, but they have updated their range quite recently so the latest model is the 991 CW.

Some schools may recommend graphical calculator but they are a lot more expensive so probably worth checking with your teachers as there is no immediate need to upgrade.

FX-CG50 Graphic Calculator, Battery amzn.eu/d/gD9rx1e Casio scientific graphical calculator FX-CG50-S-UH

This is the graphical one my DS had when he did maths alevel. He’s just passed it down to DD as she’s just started a levels and is doing maths & further maths. So luckily I’ve only had to buy it once!

it was recommended by his school but it’s not cheap so I’d definitely check if it’s needed first.

DS has the Casio fx-9860GIII and has found it useful but is doing further maths as well. Still uses the GCSE one for some things. Casio currently have 20% off and some schools offer a discount. Casio fx-991EX ok for A level.

Do the school really not give any guidance? This is poor.
We recommend the Casio fx CG50 (but it is 'only' half the price on the Casio website when purchased through school).

Update: DS1's school sixth form/Maths dept is recommending the Casio 991 CW, and offering it for sale through a school shop with quite a good discount - under £21 (it's on sale for up to £36, with some supermarket chains offering it for £25 online but none in stock when I looked), so going through school also saves money/time/energy hunting around. Am going to buy it this week and also ask DS2's teacher and Head of Maths for their GCSE recommendation.

This is interesting. DC1's college is strongly recommending SEVENTY POUNDS worth of graphic calculator for FM.

H is blathering on about it being fine to get a twenty quid one, because that's all he needed to get an A. That was however in 1996, so I'd been ignoring him, but maybe he's right??

He doesn't need a graphical calculator for A-level (he does however need one better than the bog standard GCSE one).

BUT if the rest of his classmates have a graphical calculator and his lessons are geared towards using one, then he will be at a disadvantage.

Oh bum. Obviously I don't want her to be disadvantaged in lessons. Ouch though.

@TheTurnofTheScrew Eeek for you. I was quite nervous that we'd have to buy a Casio graphical calculator model currently selling at over £100, though I suppose school might be able to offer a discount on those models as well - apparently Casio has its own student offers though I'm not sure whether they sell direct or if that's how schools offer discounts. Are they saying the same for the A level Maths and do they start FM this year? Both DS1's sixth form and the other one he was considering (he had 5 conditional offers and was dithering between 2 to the end, and met the conditions for both) do the Maths syllabus this year for students enrolled for FM, then they actually do FM in year 13.