Fast track A Level Maths

[froomeonthebroom]

The sixth form college DS wants to go to offers fast track maths, that is, Maths A Level in Y12 and Further Maths in Y13.

Has anyone had experience of this? How is it viewed by universities?

Is it better that he does this and chooses 4 A Levels with maths completed in Y12, or takes both maths course over 2 years and chooses 3 A Levels?

Any advice welcome!

FM is most often taken as a 4th. Many schools used to do Maths then FM when modules could be resat in y13 to improve a grade.

My eldest did a level in year 10 and then further in year 11 - so similar. I think doing a level in one year is a big ask!
mine did gcse at age 13 and got a level 9 and then as at 14 that was tough with an A and then a level in year 10 A and then further maths - so it’s different to your scenario but any a level in one year is a huge ask - mine found the jump to a level hard at first and then got used to it.

DD found, as most do, that A level maths was a significant jump from GCSE/Add maths that she'd done (9/A achieved comfortably). She would have had to devote a lot of time to do an accelerated course.

DS is in an accelerated maths/FM class, though they still do all the exams at the end rather than doing maths early. It's worked well for him, but they had done a lot of enrichment prior to GCSEs such that moving onto A levels felt like a smooth ramp rather than a step up. At least some of the class may have had to work pretty hard to stay in it.

The advantage of doing two additional subjects as well as math/FM is flexibility when choosing university courses, and the ability to drop FM if it proves too much. I don't know anything about how universities currently view sitting the exams consecutively, agree it's a good question to ask.

I'd definitely make sure you're clear around how much lesson time and how much homework time is expected with the fast track class.

Lots of sixth forms do it this way and the course is structured in such a way that it can actually be easier to do so (Y12 further maths content sometimes relies on Y13 A-level content having been taught).

I would assume that it is being taught in double the number of lessons, not that they are being expected to get through a full A-level in Y12 in the same number of lessons allocated to their other Y12 options.

My DS does this, basically though he is having around double the lessons for the Maths as each of the other two A levels (so overall about the same time committed to each subject) and the same will happen next year with Further Maths. He is finding it fine to do this. I think if you are doing Maths and Further Maths you love Maths and don't care that 50% of your week is taken up by the subject! (if you are doing 4 A levels, if 3 than 66%)

I was just about to post exactly the same question! DS wants to do Maths/FM and computer science, we are unsure whether he will be expected to do another A level or if he can just do the 3? I'm just concerned about the workload of doing 4. He wants to go to uni so does doing 4 give him an advantage?

He could do just the three, but if he struggles with the double maths and needs to drop down to single maths, he would have just two. A 1/3 of my son's double maths class has dropped out. He could start with the 4 and see how it goes. My DS (a Maths lover) finds it OK, quite a lot of work but perfectly doable and he has enough time for gaming, seeing friends, D of E etc.