Yearly warning about taking A-level maths with a 6 at GCSE

[noblegiraffe]

GCSE results day and therefore A-level sign-up day.

So with that in mind I just thought I'd post the table of conversions from GCSE to A-level results for maths to show that there is a strong correlation. This is because A-level Maths basically starts with a quick review of grade 8/9 GCSE algebra content and then gets more difficult. Students starting with a 7 will have to work very hard to keep up, students with a 6 often flounder.

There are sixth forms and colleges that will accept students with a 6 onto A-level maths, but from many years of experience, this is not a good experience for the student. Many will drop out and switch courses early on (and therefore not appear in the results table I've posted), but some will struggle on for 2 years and then come out with a grade that really doesn't help them with university applications.

If you take A-level maths with a 6, even if you manage to complete the course (and a lot won't), about three quarters will get a D or below, with E the most common grade.

If your child is considering maths with a grade 7 but will be applying for extremely competitive uni courses, consider whether they actually need it as A*s and As from a 7 are not likely. Obviously, anything is possible, check how far they were off an 8, ask their teacher for advice, but please don't assume that an (old) A at GCSE translates to an A at A-level.

This data is from 2019, there's more recent data but not in as clear a format, and the message is basically the same.

If your child is keen to do maths, but gets a 6, please consider Core Maths instead, which is designed to be taken alongside 3 A-levels and provides supportive maths content for A-level sciences and social sciences (e.g. psychology, geography).

If your child is going to do A-level maths (particularly if they are on a 7 but also 8/9), check that they have done summer bridging work so they hit the ground running in September.

If they haven't been set any bridging work - don't assume that's ok! There are some resources here to help https://alevelmathsrevision.com/bridging-the-gap/

Sorry I should have said his other A-levels are physics and economics. He is thinking about engineering but also maths or physics.

Engineering isn't on his radar. He wants to go into finance, so looking at an apprenticeship or Economics at uni.

For those who mentioned history - it depends on which topics your school does but it’s not easy and there is a huge coursework essay. Ds is doing it with a 6 in gcse and is working really hard not to end up on a C (had 7s for English so they let him do history).

Even the dedicated maths schools allow students with Grade 8 so that policy seems harsh. Does his school run maths and FM in parallel or maths in year 12, FM in year 13?

Have a look at AMSP for guidance on self studying. I think saying he wasn't allowed to take FM because his GCSE grade wasn't high enough won't be a good enough reason.

"If anyone has a link, please post!"

Sorry, I haven't read the thread but there is something that sort of approximates this.

It doesn't link A Level performance directly to GCSE performance in that subject, but rather to average overall GCSE performance (I think based on the Attainment 8 score).

So for example, it shows that for those pupils who averaged a 9 across their GCSEs who then took maths A Level in 2025, 65.5% got an A star.

For those that averaged between 8 and 9 who then went on to do maths A Level, 45.8% got an A star.

For those that averaged between 7 and 8 then did maths A Level, 15.6% got an A star in 2025.

For those who averaged between 5 and 6, only 1.2% got an A star and 75% got a C or lower.

There are similar figures for other subjects as well.

A quick warning, the tables may not include everyone taking A Levels though. I notice that the tables have 97,578 pupils taking maths A Level but Ofqual says that there were 104,630 people who took maths A Level that year.

https://department-for-education.shinyapps.io/ks5-transition-matrices/_w_7087ff414f07483dade56da2d1eae160

@MaturingCheeseball Some dc don’t find it that challenging though judging by the % of A and A star grades. And most of those go to the 7/8/9 grades at GCSE. If you get maths, the high grades are not that difficult to get.

Our school won’t let kids do FM without a 9 in maths and they are very strict on it. Purely because for those doing FM they teach maths in year 12 only so need everyone to be extremely proficient and fast.

Even then they have some that stuggle with the pace, drop FM and then join the other maths class for year 13 to go over the tricker maths topics again.

Slight hijack, but which calculator do they need for Maths and Further Maths? DS's new school has a list but the link is helpfully broken and I can't find the models on other local sixth form sites.

This is the one they actually need https://www.casio.com/uk/scientific-calculators/product.FX-991CW-PLUS-UK/

However some schools want them to have a much more expensive graphical calculator, so you might want to wait if you're not sure?

Thanks! I didn't want to spend over £100 if not needed.

@MadMAGA If they do want a graphical one see if the school sells them.DC school sells the Casio one for about £88 so a substantial discount.

Good tip, thanks!

He has got a 9. He got a 9 in FM. I would definitely point that out to the school because a 9 in FM is possibly an even better indicator of maths ability than a 9 in GCSE.

Them saying that someone who got a 9 in FM and was 4 marks off a 9 in GCSE is unsuited to FM A-level is absolutely batshit and needs challenging, especially if it will stop him from applying to university courses he wants to do.

We got our Casio calculators through school as they got a huge discount

Sorry if someone has already posted this, but the table is a little misleading. It does not include the very large number of students with 5,6 and 7 at GCSE who drop off the courses.
I expect the vast majority of those with a 5 who start the course do not finish it. Indeed probably drop out by October.

Yes, I did mention the drop-outs in my OP, although I wouldn't go scaring people talking about 'very large numbers' dropping out with a 7 as that's not my experience.

Schools tend to have a period of a few weeks at the start of sixth form where students can try out a course and then switch if they don't like it or if they struggle (or they may be advised that they are better suited to something else), so if anyone is a bit nervous about starting an A-level, then they should be aware that they aren't locked into that choice from the start.

Yes. Fair enough.

But the stats for those who drop out are very relevant, especially the 5s and 6s.
My boss does not understand this and is constantly trying to insist that we allow these students to take A’ level maths. Madness in my opinion, except in very exceptional circumstances.

Your school allows students with a 5 to start A-level maths???

Wow .
That is shocking

No. Not 5s but I have, in the past had to battle regarding 6s. However, every year it is suggested med that we do take 6s….. because other subjects do.

Solidarity.

Our entry requirement is a 6 and it's really not fair on those kids.

I think taking A levels with a 6, if taking the harder subjects is an issue for many dc. It would be for MFLs for example. Any subject where you build on previous learning. I suspect many of these dc would de-select themselves, but maths is different because of the rush to stem. Dc and parents see maths differently and schools want bums on seats so have differing policies on admission to A levels.

Yep. We see it all the time. Get an 8 in English, 9 in history etc and 5s and 6s in stem. "What A levels are you taking?"
"Maths, physics and chemistry. My parents say there are more jobs in stem. " And then they bomb at A level and don't know where to go next.

This relentless drive to get kids to do stem is destroying my subject at A level. But enjoy your future ruled by robots and AI without empathy and creativity😆

@DrFaustina Yes I agree and quite a few jobs in stem would greatly benefit from people with a different kind of brain and outlook being involved.

Agree so much with this!

DD taking English lit and philosophy. Plus two stem subjects: biology & maths (at the moment anyway!) Would love for her to take another humanities/essay based subject instead of the maths it would really play to her strengths.

She did do well in biology at GCSE so hopefully this will go ok. Fingers crossed.