AS Level Algebra?

[quiggle]

DD is just starting y11 so doing her GCSEs this year. Last term she said her maths teacher was thinking of putting a few of the students in for AS Level algebra in January and so she's been running after school classes for it. DD says it only needs a few extra classes because there's a lot of overlap with the GCSE. She also says it's only "pass or fail" rather than graded. The problem is, we haven't had any formal letters about any of this, so I don't know if her interpretation is correct or whether she's missing something.
Does it sound plausible? Surely an AS level should be a lot more work? Surely January is an odd time for exams to be taking place?

If it is in January, then when would they need to be registered for it?

I would be interested to know the actual full name of the course. Never heard of it before OP

Maybe its this but ask the maths teacher:

qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-awards-in-mathematics/algebra.html

I don't know the name of it, which is partly why I'm confused, but that Edexcel link looks promising. I'll take a look.

I've taken a quick look at that.

In level 2: I think the only thing in it which I didn't do for GCSE is sketch graphs and surds, but they now definitely do surds (which are very easy, so not surprisingly) at GCSE.
In level 3: I don't think we did much on number sequences (only straight line graph ones) for GCSE so that depends how far it goes, and I think inequalities again was single A-level, however again I think it is covered younger now, plus obviously still the graph sketching.

It will probably strengthen their algebraic skills which will both help the GCSE maths and provide a little bit of a bridge into A-level. It may also give the teacher an idea of children who will perform fine at GCSE, but struggle at A-level as you need to be strong at algebra for A-level.

Noblegiraffe will know more though.

If it’s pass/fail and sat in January and it’s been called ‘AS level’ then it does sound like the Edexcel Level 3 certificate.

It’s not an AS, Level 3 means it is a bit harder than GCSE and it attracts UCAS points. For comparison, an E at AS level maths gets you 6 UCAS points, but a pass in the Edexcel Award will get you 3 UCAS points so it won’t be nearly as much work.

I’ve had a look at it and while it would be good for transition to A-level, I’m not entirely comfortable with the idea of entering them ad-hoc in January. 5 months of extra study till their GCSEs would mean their algebra skills aren’t quite as developed as they would be if they sat it in June. To pass they need 67% which is actually pretty high. I guess the teacher would know the pupils’ ability if it’s a select few but I’d hesitate to do this with my own class.

I entered some of my lot for Further Maths GCSE in June - an extra maths qualification for the really bright ones is fine, BUT the grade boundary for a pass was 17% so I was pretty sure even if they had a terrible day they’d come away with something.

Fails have to be declared on UCAS forms.

Entry deadline for the Jan series is mid-October.

Thanks Noble. Very helpful.

My dd sat this.

We bought Edexcel Award in Algebra Level 3 Workbook (Edexcel Maths Awards) https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1446903230/ref=cmswwrcppapiii_merFDb7QZJYYS to fill in the gaps.

She got an 8 in GCSE Maths and passed this exam easily. They did after school sessions once a week from Jan-May and she did some extra self-teaching at home but it didn't need much.

Entering for the June series would make more sense - they’d have the benefit of the extra algebra practice done in their maths lessons as well.

Edexcel awards are quite early, I just looked up the exam date for 2020 and it’s 6th May so it would be over and done with before her other exams kick off. The school might be a bit antsy about revision for it detracting from other subjects though.

I think I’d ask the school:
Is this the first time you’ve done this? (If not, what’s your pass rate)
Why not enter in May when she will have completed the maths syllabus?

I think it also depends on the type of school - if they got loads of grade 9s in maths last year then they probably know what they’re doing with their brightest kids. If your DD is actually predicted a grade 7 then concentrating on GCSE would be a priority.