Departmental contact

Mr Ealden – [email protected]

Examining board & Qualification

Edexcel A level Maths (9MAO) & Further Maths A level (9FAO)

Entry requirements

Please see current prospectus for further information

Students say

“It builds on GCSE maths and extends it in more interesting ways.”

“I feel I am learning skills that will be useful in my university study and future career.”

WHY STUDY THIS SUBJECT?

Mathematics is arguably humankind’s greatest achievement. It enables us to make sense of the world around us, and to plan for the future world that does not yet exist. Everything we own is designed, produced and priced using mathematics, and with the continued advances in technology, mathematicians and maths-related careers are very much in demand.

WHAT SKILLS WILL I DEVELOP?

• Problem solving
• Critical thought and logical reasoning
• Statistical analysis and modelling

WHAT WILL I STUDY?

For A Level Maths, two thirds of the course is ‘core maths’, which is primarily algebra, trigonometry, coordinate geometry and calculus, and applications of these. The remaining third of the course is titled ‘applications’ and is a mixture of statistics and mechanics.

For Further Maths, content builds on the themes above, but also includes new areas such as complex numbers and differential equations. Both mechanics and statistics are studied in greater detail, and there is the option to also study decision maths.

HOW WILL I BE ASSESSED?

100% examination at the end of Year 13.

A level Maths has 3 x 2-hour exams, each worth 100 marks. Two of these test ‘pure maths’; the other is combined statistics and mechanics.

A level Further Maths has 4 x 90-minute exams, each worth 75 marks. Two of these are compulsory ‘core pure maths’; the other two are chosen from either Further Statistics, Further Mechanics, Decision Maths, or Further Pure Maths.

WHAT ARE MY POST-18 OPTIONS?

Maths is a ‘facilitating subject’ and therefore a multitude of post-18 options are available. Aside from further study within the subject, it is useful for courses and careers in the fields of medicine, engineering, computer science, accountancy, business, and the sciences.

WHAT EXTRA-CURRICULAR OPPORTUNITIES ARE THERE?

All students enter the senior maths challenge, with the possibility of competing in further rounds of the competition. We also enter a team into the senior team maths challenge, in which we have often won the local heat and progressed to the national final in London.