Maths A Level - is it true how hard it is?

[bendmeoverbackwards]

Dd is in Year 11 and about to finalise her A level choices. She wants to do Sociology and Psychology and is thinking about Maths for her third choice.

She had some problems with mental health and subsequent school attendance in Year 10. This year has been much better but her attendance is still a bit low. She is very bright and seems to be working at home and catching up with what she's missed.

Her current predicted grade for Maths is a 6 (was a 7 previously) but has been getting 7s in tests. They need a 7 for Maths A Level at their school and she thinks she can achieve this.

I've heard how hard Maths A Level is, its a huge jump from GCSE, it's one of the hardest A levels. Is this true?

I would say she has a very good Maths brain which was evident from when she was young. She just seems to work out things herself and was always top at primary school and given extension work etc.

Does it sound like she would cope?

Most people I know who did A level maths got a 9 and did gcse stats in year 10 .
I think a 7 is a push tbh as she obviously doesn't understand all of it completely. There is a big jump from gcse to A level !

I actually found A level maths easier than some aspects of GCSE maths. At least you can use a calculator, and I was never that great at mental maths. I think maths is like any other subject - it has a lot of rules and facts that you need to learn and then practice to apply. So if you revise maths like you would history, you are almost destined to get a high mark. It's just that up to GCSEs, some fairly intelligent kids never really have to revise for maths and could 'just do it', up to maybe a grade 6 or 7. But that is unlikely to work beyond GCSEs. So maths is by no means harder than any other subject, it just needs the same amount of learning, self-appliance and revising than other subjects.

Why would you do that? Even a C in A level maths is worth more than an A in Sociology or similar. And he might be really good at it anyway.

A while ago but I got an A in GCSE maths and struggled with A Level maths so much, like a pp said it was like a different language. I got a D at AS level and dropped it. I got an A and a B in sociology and psychology. Could she do anything she has an interest in such as music or textiles etc? Psychology and sociology are quite theory based so something practical may be good?

I’m not sure that a C in Maths is worth as much as an A in another subject, tbh - obviously for ‘Maths requiring’ degrees like engineering, it will be better to have Maths at C rather than not at all. However, for other degrees you don’t generally see ‘our offer is AAA unless you take Maths, in which case it’s AAC’.

Facilitating subjects is something to look out for - replacing the Maths with a facilitating subject rather than a non-facilitating subject would be a sensible move - but sweeping statements that a Maths A level 2 grades lower is ‘worth more’ is simply misleading.

Even a C in A level maths is worth more than an A in Sociology or similar.

I don't think so. AAA looks better than AAC.

The term "facilitating subject" doesn't exist any more.

Yeah, sorry, I do know that about ‘facilitating subject’ and couldn’t be bothered to put in the explanation and caveats. Perhaps ‘it may be worth thinking about replacing the Maths with another ‘core’ subject which leads in lots of possible directions (and perhaps one studied for GCSE rather than 3 new subjects), and consulting the Russell Group’s Informed Choices website if that level of university is a possible aspiration’ would have been clearer.

I don't think so. AAA looks better than AAC.

Absolutely and particularly the case when it comes to uni offers. You're taking a big risk unless it's a degree where you have to have maths or have sufficient aptitude for the subject.

I've seen a few very disappointed kids at my son's (selective private) school this year where maths grades scuppered uni places. All of those boys had 9s at GCSE (albeit in the first year of non-examiner grades).

Not that it's impossible to do well, I just don't think it's necessarily a subject where your grade is dependent on the work you put in. At least, that was my experience. My younger son has picked maths A level and I hope he doesn't regret it either.

Unless his attitude to homework, revision and perseverance goes up several notches, he will struggle with it. I know him pretty well by now; he is bright but bloody lazy.

Absolutely - Uni's don't give offers based on on A Level being harder than another.

If the entry is ABB they won't say ABC because one subject is maths. They might specify a grade in maths depending on the subject but you don't get brownie points for it where its not a requirement.

It's also worth re-emphasising the potential cost to grades in other subjects if she finds herself focusing disproportionately on maths just to get a C (or lower).

Despite getting a A at GCSE this is why I didn't do maths at A Level having spoken to my teacher. Despite doing well enough at GCSE there were already signs that my brain just wasn't wired for maths at a higher level - unlike my son who was doing A Level maths for "fun" in year 10/11.

Unless someone is a natural mathematician or absolutely needs maths to fulfil their desired Uni choices then I'd absolutely recommend against it.

and perhaps one studied for GCSE rather than 3 new subjects

I agree with this. DD started off with 4 A level subjects. The one she most wanted to do was the untried subject, and it was the one she hated. Luckily she could drop it after banking an A at AS level.

@bendmeoverbackwards The maths thing is going to be a difficult choice due to her current grade and it does come down to resilience. If she keeps getting low scores is she likely to be motivated to do more and work at it or more likely to feel bad and make her mental health worse?

The best thing to do is play to her strengths, do subjects she enjoys and does well in. I think the 7 in maths is because not all students are heading to uni and therefore don't need above a C grade but it is still a good A level grade to come out with.

Statistically a grade 7 means they are likely to be missing a lot of base level information that A level builds on. GCSE maths higher paper has approximately 50% of the paper content to distinguish the 9s and 8s, it is recommended that you need to be a very firm 6 to attempt it and be aware that a grade 6/7 means that a lot of the paper will be difficult.

@BlueTick yes she does enjoy it.

I don’t think she would cope with 4, even for a short while.

@BlueTick I am very happy to pay for a tutor (and have offered now for science) but she really struggles with 1 to 1 interaction and talking to people she doesn’t know. She is on the autistic spectrum.

It’s such a shame that anything less than a B is seen as not good enough these days. Is it any wonder there is a mental health crisis? I know most RG unis want A grades but plenty of other unis want Bs and Cs.

DS1 is at a RG with AAB. The B in Maths (with a lot of work).
It was obvious that was his weakest A level subject a few months in which put so much pressure on him to get A's in his other two subjects.
The gamble only just paid off really.

My Dd is doing maths at Uni. She did A level maths and further maths and the one thing to consider is that she really struggled with the mechanics stuff. The language issues associated with ASD for her caused difficulties - the questions were wordy and she struggled to extract what the question was actually asking. Her teachers were not much help as they struggled to understand the issue. It may be worth chatting through some of the questions to see if this is a potential problem for her - not all students with ASD struggle with the same issues but it is worth considering. And checking the syllabus.

It's not that anything less than a B is rubbish but clearly some universities want to (and can) take very high attaining students. If she absolutely loves maths and can cope with failing or getting very low grades in ongoing assessments and final exam she could qualify to do the A Level. It's just she doesn't sound like a candidate who will thrive on the course. Awkward as it is it is worth finding a better fit to ensure the best chance of having a couple of years where she really enjoys and succeeds in her academic endeavours. I have taught A-Level for many, many years and this is the advice I would give my own children. Sixth form is a wonderful time where academic, social and personal development skills are all really taking off. A balance of challenge alongside satisfaction and success is so crucial.

I should also add that most sixth form providers operate a period of grace for a few weeks where subject swaps are possible. Obviously this isn't ideal as it requires students to hit the ground running and also potentially catch up on missed work but it is worth asking about.

I would not say someone who is predicted a 6 or 7 at gcse is naturally all that great at a subject. Is it currently the gcse she is predicted the highest grade in?

What alternatives do you have and what does she want to study in future? Would a D in A level Maths be helpful for that?

How is she in related subjects with a lot of maths? Physics and Chemistry any good?
Or something completely different that she may not have studied yet like business or media?
Philosophy might be interesting for her if she likes that kind of thing?

It really depends on how much work they are willing to put in. I would also take the predictive charts with a pinch of salt because of this. DS got a 7 at GCSE and an A in his final exams. He needed an A for uni so worked his socks off to get it so it is possible.

Thanks for letting us know.