Maths A Level - how hard?!

[dogsandbunnies]

DS, current Y11, is contemplating Maths A Level as he is keen on PPE as a degree. He is predicted an 8 in GCSE at the moment. DH and I both got As af GCSE but were told we’d find Maths A Level too hard by our teachers (a long time ago!) so we are worried he won’t be able to get a decent grade in it, despite a potentially great GCSE result. What are your experiences of this? He is hard working and motivated but we’ve never seen him as Maths-y (he is predicted 9s in French, RS, Geography, Business Studies for example).

(I know there are unis that don’t require Maths for PPE.)

From my experience A Level Maths is really difficult - even for a GCSE grade 8 score which my DS got. He did go on to do Maths A level and he struggled in his first year scoring just above average. In his second year he was getting Bs but he was putting in the graft. In the mocks six months or so before the actual exam he just missed the A and he wasn't happy. Leading up to the actual exam he chose extra hard timed past papers. He did 30 papers in timed conditions every day leading up to the exam. He needed to get the A for his Uni. When he came out of the exam he was sober but glad it was over. 7 weeks later or so when he opened the envelope he saw an A star in Maths. That was a great day for him - and us. It all paid off !

My DS enjoyed maths and found A Level maths easy
if your DS finds gcse maths easy then he should be fine with A levels

I have a double first class degree in two science subjects and a PhD. I am 53. I still have regular nightmares about my maths A level. Never about Finals, or my PhD viva, or all the stats I had to do for my thesis, but my maths A level nearly broke me.