help with further maths aqa gcse

[gcsehelps]

Dd has been entered for further maths as getting a 9 in maths mocks. Apparently she plans to teach it to herself at half term as it has not been taught in school! Is this feasible? How much overlap is there?

Just looking for resources to help her. Is it a level 2 and not a GCSE? Any suggestions of best resources? Ideally split into paper 1 and 2 as she has 5 days free after last GCSE before paper 2 further maths to just prepare for paper 2.

As a level 2 will the result be on the certificate with other AQA GCSE subjects or on a separate certificate? Thank you

It's definitely possible to teach yourself maths - especially these days with information being so accessible from the Internet. The biggest obstacle people face with maths is not having the right perspective or the learning skills to make sense of the subject. If DD has already achieved a grade 9 in her mock exams, I would expect her to already have the capability to learn the subject herself.

With that said, you want to measure her performance on learning further maths after she has studies some the topic. This will give you an idea of how much she has been able to learn - and whether any changes are required for the learning strategy.

Thank you. Any recommendations of best site to teach further maths? Is it feasible to learn paper one then do past papers for that and leave paper 2 until all other gcses are over?

Do you know if it is on a separate certificate to GCSEs as it is a level 2 even though same examining body?

Resources here.

Surprised no extra teaching I have to say.

www.resourceaholic.com/p/certificate-of-further-maths.html?m=1

Level 2 is equivalent to gcse so I would think it would be on the same certificate

thank you. there has been an after school club once a week since January but unfortunately an appalling teacher so DD refused to go and said she could learn more by herself. Nothing in lessons as very few are taking it and lessons are taught to aiming for 7 gcse in top set

Ah.

The after school club is a common way to run it.

The majority of the content is similar to gcse but harder - so for example expanding three brackets rather than two brackets etc,

In theory a bright kid could learn it themselves but in practice I haven't seen it be successful.

Are all the same topics on both papers or are there any topics that are just on one paper? Apologies if a silly question as I know nothing of maths.

I agree it sounds a tricky task but DD has raised all 3 sciences from a 5 at xmas to 9s on all past papers now by herself as school teach to a low level and she is very focussed at home, unable to work at school due to the constant disruption as teachers not in control.

Anyway self teaching is the only option now other than not turning up for the exam and reimbursing school for their costs as extra lessons stopped a few weeks ago.

I was hoping it is on a separate certificate so need not be shown if a low grade. Is it graded 9-1 or pass merit?

Thank you

Specification is here

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/mathematics/aqa-certificate/further-mathematics-8365/specification-at-a-glance

past papers and mark schemes are here
https://www.mrbartonmaths.com/exams/aqa-level-2-certificate-in-further-mathematics/past-papers-and-solutions.html

She can definitely teach herself and get an ok mark.

It’s 9-1.

From the original post, it sounds like the girl is in year 11 and she is planning to learn the FM syllabus during upcoming half term in the middle of her GCSE. It is not possible at all, unless a low grade is deemed acceptable. Don’t disrespect the subject.

The new chat gpt (v4.0) has a function to help you work through maths questions and help you if you get stuck without giving you the answer. It would be perfect for someone trying to teach themselves maths.

Unlike other subjects maths does not split the content by paper.

So once you have sat paper 1 you can make an educated guess at paper 2 but topics may come up twice or not at all.

So she needs to learn the whole thing for the first paper.

Disrespect the subject? How so? 😂

If a person is achieving grade 9 from their mock exams, then it's clear that they have already achieved the ability to genuinely understand the subject. The question is whether they would be able to learn the subject using self study, which they could.

If they are in year 11 already, then this changes the context of the situation significantly. But it's not like having a teacher or tutor would make much difference either.

Hope you are not a teacher stating my dd is disprespecting maths. My dd is at an appalling school and has self taught much of her gcses. lessons ae totally disruptive as teachers cant control the students yet she is motivated to self study and by being home since easter has raised her grades in maths and all sciences from 5s to 9s. I am asking if she can do similar here or should not take the further maths and we reimburse school. how is that disprespecting maths. I know nothing about maths it might be that there is an overlap with gcse and someone on a 9 could already get a 5 or 6 and with a weeks study over half term could push it up to a 7 which might be worth having. she should be credited for her incredible work ethic and resilience and the government blamed for the lack of teachers not dd!!

Thank you to everyone else who has been helpful

I have just asked my dd, who is taking FM gcse.
She said after a few lessons, she got a 6 in her first mock at the start of the year. Like your dd, she is predicted a 9 in maths. Apparently there is some overlap, but it’s just much harder, and she doesn’t think you can get a much better score by self study during half term. There are topics that are not covered in regular maths, so it will be a hard task to get to grips with those in such short time.

Also, by focussing on FM during half term, her other subjects might suffer so it’s a difficult choice to make.
Good luck to your daughter, I hope it works out for her.

It only took a few lessons of further maths before my son felt confident at it so if your daughter is grade 9 standard at maths I'd say it's doable. I'd start by ordering a course book from Amazon.

Thank you very much. She has 5 days before paper 2 after the other exams have finished so can do maths that whole time. she really enjoys maths so if she enjoys further maths too it may be the light relief between other subjects in half term for paper 1.

What grade further maths is not worth having ie if below a 7 is it better not to take it as she can decide day of two before I guess? Considering looking at engineering or maths based future and getting 9s in maths and all sciences so dont want to make her cv look worse by having a low further maths.

This is really good website for futhermath
https://www.mathsociety.org.uk/gcsefurthermaths

I'd be concerned about doing this for no other reason than it will take attention away from the main GCSEs she has been taught that have exams after half term.
She can spend all of July & August doing maths if she so chooses, to get a head start on A level, assuming she is doing it of course.

I am a teacher but you can see my message was not directing at you. It quoted and replied to another poster.

I think others suggested the same with what I said. Don’t do it.

If you think an entire GCSE can be self-learnt over half term then clearly it is disrespecting the subject. I teach in a very selective school and at least 60% of the students will get 9 with some getting 99 or 100% in their GCSE papers. However, if I suggest that they learn the course in a week, they will laugh at my face. It is called “Further” for a reason.

Where did I say anything about learning the course in a week?

If someone is deciding to take an extra GCSE course at this time during the exam season, the assumption is that they are not about to take the course next week. Would the exam boards even allow the registration?

The question I'm answering is about whether someone can learn further maths by themselves. The answer to this is yes, if they have developed the ability to study and learn maths independently. It is worth doing some type of review of learning progress made after getting started to see whether independent learning is working well enough, or if some extra support is required.

Hopefully that clarifies your concern about treating the subject respectfully. Although, I would be more concerned about the respect you receive from your students if you worry about them laughing at you.

She hasnt just decided to do it. School put her in for the extra exam after the mocks because she was getting a 9 in maths. We agreed as thought it would be taught by school but then were offered 40 minutes fortnightly after school since January with a teacher that cant teach at all. DD has taught herself some of the syllabus already but until she tries a past paper we dont know how much. Students at an appalling school with mixed ability teaching will already be used to self teaching all content above a grade 5 or 6 so very different to kids being taught to a 9 at a grammar where they dont need to self teach at GCSE. If she does a further maths past paper and gets 6/7 before the exam is it worth taking it or would that make employers/university think she is weak at maths? I am inclined to think dont take it if she wont get at least a 7 but not to make a decision until she has tried past papers.

I would say:
. If she is going to do A level maths, then that will overtake any FM grade.
. if she is not going to do A level maths, then an FM grade is irrelevant.
So don't risk it at this stage.