Maths A level

Mathematics is one of the most highly respected and demanding A-Level courses and provides the foundation for the study of any scientific subject as well as a challenge in logical thinking and problem solving. A level chemistry, biology, physics, psychology and economics all include mathematical processes related to statistics, mechanics and other numerical skills, making it a great course to accompany any of those subjects.

The A level maths course provides pupils with the opportunity to further develop their knowledge and understanding of many of the topics taught at Key stages 3 & 4, as well as introducing a number of new topics which are exclusive to Key stage 5. Several of these topics may be developed further at university level, meaning that the A level course provides excellent preparation for those pupils who wish to study a maths based subject at university.

Qualification	A level Mathematics
Awarding body	Edexcel
Entry requirements	GCSE at Grade 7 or above in mathematics
Course content	There are three strands to A level maths: Pure maths, which focuses on the algebraic manipulation of expressions and equations, and graphs. This takes up the largest share, 67% of the course. Statistics, which focusses on the manipulation and presentation of data. Mechanics, closely link with A level physics, where we look at models of displacement, velocity and acceleration as well as the forces which act upon an object. The statistics and mechanics elements combine to make up the remaining 33% of the course.
Year 12	Students will initially build upon their knowledge from their Key Stage 4 studies by applying mainly algebraic techniques to solve more complex problems. The concept of calculus will be formally introduced for the first time in the differentiation and Integration units and as the year continues students will be introduced to more statistical and mechanical processes, where they will be required to apply many of the algebraic techniques taught in the pure mathematics units. The necessity to structure answers clearly with the required evidence of calculation continues from Key Stage 4, and this is essential in the development of students at Key stage 5 - Linear and quadratic functions, surds, indices and graphs, graphs- straight line and circles, algebraic fractions and binomial expansion, trigonometry, vectors, differentiation, integration, exponentials and logarithms, modelling (mechanics), kinematics with constant acceleration (mechanics), forces and Newton’s Laws (mechanics), kinematics with variable acceleration (mechanics), sampling (statistics), data measures (statistics), data presentations and interpretation (statistics), probability (statistics), statistical distributions (statistics), hypothesis testing (statistics).
Year 13	Students continue their studies through the curriculum and build upon the knowledge and skills in topics from previous years. Many of the topics covered in Year 13 are a further development of Year 12, with the focus moving to the application-specific strategies to solve more challenging problems in areas such as calculus and trigonometry. Algebraic proof and fractions, functions and modelling, sequences and series, The binomial theorem, Trigonometry, Parametric equations, differentiation, numerical methods, integration, vectors, moments (mechanics), forces (mechanics), projectiles (mechanics), application of forces (mechanics), further kinematics and vectors (mechanics), regression (statistics), probability (statistics), the normal distribution (statistics).
Assessment	Students are assessed entirely through examination at the end of the course and is assessed by three examinations: Pure mathematics (two 2 hour examinations: 67%) Statistics and mechanics (two 1 hour examination: 33%)

Why study mathematics?

Mathematics is one of the most highly respected and demanding A level courses and provides the foundation for the study of any scientific subject as well as a challenge in logical thinking and problem-solving.