Further Maths A Level
Course Overview
Mathematics is of central importance to society – underpinning the Sciences, Technology, Computing and the Financial World. It possesses not only truth, but supreme beauty. Further Maths acts as a perfect bridge between A Levels and university education, helping you to develop the skills required to work at degree level in many subject areas. Students studying both Maths and Further Maths have an excellent choice of careers, many in well paid professions. For many university courses Further Maths A level is essential.
You will be taught in a dedicated group, taking A Level Maths at the end of year 12 and A Level Further Maths at the end of year 13.
In year 12, you will study the full A Level Maths course. This allows us to complete all of the fundamental A Level skills required before undertaking A Level Further Maths. Topics covered include Proof, Polynomials, Graphs, Binomial Expansions, Trigonometry, Logarithms, Calculus and Vectors in Pure Maths. You will also study Mechanics, focusing on motion and the forces producing motion, and Statistics which is all about analysing data, probability and hypothesis testing.
This means that when you are applying to university, you will already know your A Level Maths grade.
In year 13 you will study the full Further Maths A Level course. Topics include: complex numbers, roots of polynomials, matrices and applications, proof by induction, series, polar coordinates and hyperbolic functions. In Statistics you will be studying more combinatorics, advanced theoretical probability and hypothesis tests. In Mechanics you will be studying elastic strings, collisions in 2D, energy and centres of mass.
Course Components
Year 12 Exam Structure
- Pure Mathematics (2hr paper)
- Pure Mathematics and Statistics (2hr paper)
- Pure Mathematics and Mechanics (2hr paper)
Year 13 Exam Structure
- Further Pure Core 1 (90 minute paper)
- Further Pure Core 2 (90 minute paper)
- Further Statistics (90 minute paper)
- Further Mechanics (90 minute paper)
Key Info
Minimum Entry Requirements
Five GCSEs at Grade 4 or above including:
- GCSE grade 7 in Mathematics
- Further Maths is a double A Level and is chosen in 2 subject blocks. You will study 2 other subjects alongside Further Maths
Assessment
- 100% Exam
- Exam Board: OCR
Subject Lead
Miss C King
Why Choose this Course?
Further Mathematics provides the tools that allow the modern world to function and on an individual level it provides the satisfaction of working things out. It will help to develop your logical thinking skills and your ability to solve complex problems – allowing you to see how different aspects of mathematics fit together.
Maths is challenging, but lots of support is available via maths workshops our bespoke Northgate Maths website and the use of OneNote which enables you to view all teacher notes at any time.
Skills You Gain
You will be encouraged to enter the Senior Maths Challenge and have an opportunity to enter the National Cipher Challenge. If you wish to take STEP our highly qualified specialist teachers will support you in doing this. Studying Further Maths at A Level will open doors to a range of degree courses and apprenticeships.
For the last 10 years 50% of our Further Maths students have gained an A or A* in both Maths and Further Maths A Levels. It is a very impressive qualification and opens doors to courses at top universities which might otherwise be out of reach.
After Northgate
Further Maths is required on many degrees with a high Maths content such as Engineering, Physics, Computing and Economics. Even if it’s not a requirement for entry, you will find that a lot of students on these degree courses have done Further Maths A Level. If you know this is the route you want to take, it’s a good idea to take Further Maths to get ahead with the Maths that will be required at university.
Students who recently completed their courses with us are studying:
- Mathematics at Cambridge
- Computer Science at Cambridge
- Chemistry at Oxford
- Economics at Exeter
- Physics with Maths at Southampton
"If you love maths then this is the course for you. The teachers are amazing, and the camaraderie is brilliant."