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Higher education

Talk to other parents whose children are preparing for university on our Higher Education forum.

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Original poster

Maths A2 - much harder than AS?

21 replies

Lurgano · 18/05/2015 11:53

My ds has struggled through AS Maths this year - predicted a C/B grade for AS which will not get him the final A grade that he needs for his course.

Have seen on here that many retake the AS just ahead of the A2 to up their UMS to get a better chance of getting a good final grade. So it is likely that he will do this..............

However wanted opinion about how much harder A2 is than AS - dont want to flog a dead horse etc. I am not a mathematician but when I look at the A2 course the topics appear very different to AS - so the Q is does A2 build on knowledge and skills from AS - is it much harder - or are they totally different maths topics that he might have a better aptitude for?

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Mindgone · 18/05/2015 12:40

According to DS1, AS maths is really hard, until you do A2 maths, which makes the AS much easier, hence all the AS resits!
Have you got access to a good maths tutor? This made the world of difference to DS. They can achieve so much more in an hour of one to one. DS got C for AS maths, and got it up to an A at A2 with resits. However, he had the benefit of some January resits.

Original poster

Lurgano · 18/05/2015 13:14

Mindgone -- that is a really interesting perspective that I had not thought about - makes absolute sense. Yes he has had a tutor since after the mocks which is helping him. Well done your ds for pulling that up to an A - that is a real achievement - my ds would have the opportunity to do the AS again this time next year only alongside his A2s....

It is the which one to drop Q that is prompting these decisions at this time....

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SecretSquirrels · 18/05/2015 15:09

I think the general rule is that all A2 exams are harder than AS.

DS1 did maths and further maths and would say that they get progressively harder. Core 1 being the easiest by a long way, then Core 2. In A2 maths many find C3 harder than C4. Some do statistics and some do mechanics depending on which course it is.

morethanpotatoprints · 18/05/2015 15:15

I think that AS is a taster of what is expected at A2 in any subject tbh.
It's a small step from GCSE to AS and a bigger step to A2 imo.

hellsbells99 · 18/05/2015 19:17

I agree with what all the previous posters have said. DD has found the step up in maths fine but it has still been a step up. She has found the step up in chemistry much harder and from what her friends have said, she is glad she dropped physics after AS!

Mindgone · 18/05/2015 19:49

Lurango, the good thing about doing maths AS resits, is that they really don't have to do much extra work, because by then, they have done the much harder work, which makes C1 andC2 seem like a breeze!
Your DS can have an idea of which subject to drop, but the results will probably make things much clearer. Hopefully!

Original poster

Lurgano · 18/05/2015 20:18

He has done C1, C2 and S1 this year - mechanics is def on the list for next year will need to look up rest of spec.

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BruceyBaby · 18/05/2015 20:22

My DS needed an A for his Uni course (deferred to Sept this year) and after not doing as well as he should have done in his AS exams, expected to get an overall B after the 2 years. He was was worried about devoting extra time to retaking both Core 1 and Core 2 in his A2 year and was going to just retake Core 2 to hopefully scrape an A but we persuaded him to put in for both and if he felt too pressured nearer the time then not do the first one again as he'd done fairly well in that. Turned out he found A2 hard but managed it fine plus when he went back over the Core 1 and Core 2 work couldn't believe why he found it so difficult. Guess another year of working on the subject and maturity made a difference for him plus we found a good tutor who focused on the things he found tricky so when it came to doing his A2 and AS retakes he did well and achieved his A. Hope things work out for your DS.

Original poster

Lurgano · 19/05/2015 13:10

Brucey - thats seems to follow with Mindgone's DC experience - well done to your son for sticking at it and getting through it - the hard graft he put in will put him in as much good stead as the great A grade he delivered. S1 tomorrow - and C2 after half term - just have to keep pushing on.

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hellsbells99 · 19/05/2015 13:15

I think DD2 has C2 tomorrow? That is exdexcel though and S1 after half term.

Original poster

Lurgano · 19/05/2015 14:21

Shit I hope he has got that right -- it is OCR.....rushing off in a panic to check...

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Original poster

Lurgano · 19/05/2015 14:31

and relax...

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KPlunk · 19/05/2015 18:47

hellsbells99 · 19/05/2015 18:53

BruceyBaby · 19/05/2015 20:37

Thanks Lurgano - he did work very hard, mainly in his second year, so was mightily relieved it paid off! Good luck to your DS

bizeemum · 19/05/2015 20:49

May I suggest that If he can plug in the bits he struggled in AS over summer holidays this will help enormously if he starts A2. DD friends who had achieved C grades at AS really struggled at A2 as some of the work builds from AS. Don't want to scare you but some ended up with overall D grade and a couple got E's as they had too much gaps in their knowledge so really struggled to grasp new concepts plus they didn't put enough hours to really practice and practice. DD maybe spent at least 8-10hrs a week just on maths to achieve the A grade she got at AS, as she doesn't find maths particularly easy or enjoyable. She also at A2 found that C3 was harder than C4. She is doing S2 for A2 rather than M1 she did S1 at AS but has found S2 easier than S1. She now spends 10+ hours per week on A2 maths plus Solomon papers. Don't know if its of any help for your dd but she suggest a combination of You Tube videos and "My Maths" website which she found very helpful plus posted on student rooms for solutions with stuff she was stuck on.

bizeemum · 19/05/2015 20:53

Sorry only just realised you have a ds not a dd

Original poster

Lurgano · 20/05/2015 07:43

Thanks bizeemum - yes he needs to be realistic as to the amount of work he will need to put in - and it make sense that it builds on the AS...will have a look at what topics are up for A2 - it is OCR (MEI)

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Original poster

Lurgano · 20/05/2015 12:09

He tells me S1 was hideously hard this morning - but he started and finished each Q - which was more than he did in the mock.....plotting a retake -- can they just retake one paper ie S1, C1 or C2 - or do they have to do all 3 parts of the AS?

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bizeemum · 20/05/2015 14:00

Sorry ti hear he found S1 hard. He can retake any paper or all that's what dd school is allowed to do. She is doing OCR but not the MEI version. With S1 as I remember dd says it's easy to drop alot of marks because of stupid mistakes like for example not calculating the scale of a graph properly to begin with which subsequently will result in the next few questions answered, being wrong as put in wrong scale to start off. So accuracy and properly checking through at the outset was what dd was having to really master to get anywhere with stats to begin with. For OCR stats not MEI with noticed over the last few years the grade boundaries are lower than C1 and C2 Hope it's the same for MEI version.

Original poster

Lurgano · 21/05/2015 17:31

Thanks Bize v helpful ....got on his case to ask about accuracy etc - he said he was aware and had dealt with that bit - so might not be a total wash out - gave him a bit of confidence and perspective. Just needs to put it behind him and focus on the next one now....

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