Mathematics and Further Mathematics A-level

At least five GCSEs at Grade 4 or above all from the core subjects including Grade 7 in Maths.

The course is really designed for grade 8 mathematicians, so if you miss out on your grade 8 in Maths you might have some catch up to do in the first few weeks to master any bits you weren't confident at. The pace of the course is quite fast as there is so much maths we need to cover.

The cycle of learning for Maths is something you are probably familiar with:

• Introduction of new material – this will involve demonstration of new methods and explanation of new ideas.
• Supported practice time in lessons – as Maths is quite an active subject you do need to actually try it. Sometimes this even involves getting it wrong first. There is always time in lessons to practice new methods until you can follow them correctly and your friends and teacher will be there to help.
• Extra practice at home – regular homework assignments to practice and develop what is learnt in class. These homework assignments have video solutions to help you if you get stuck. We believe that all students should be able to complete the homework with the support available.
• Guided test preparation – we provide practice tests for all of our assessments to help you prepare for tests. It is not uncommon to find some of the new ideas and methods you meet tricky at first. We believe that tests should not be a surprise and students should have time to prepare as they would for the final exams.
• Tests – Maths tests are an unescapable part of mathematics. To succeed at A-Level Maths you not only need to have a good knowledge of the material you have learnt but also have developed an effective exam strategy to ensure you get the mark you deserve.

At the end of the second year you will have all of your maths exams for the two A-Levels. There are no exams sat in the first year. There are quite a few exams so we make sure we are finished with plenty of time to spare for revision.

A-Level Maths = 2 two hour exams on Pure and 1 two hour on Stats & Mechanics

A-Level Further Maths = 2 ninety minute Core exams, 1 ninety minute Further Stats, 1 ninety minute Further Mechanics

Throughout the course you will have 2x weekly mini tests (~10 mins) to make sure you have fully understood the work covered in the weekly homework assignments. There will be 2x half termly monitoring tests covering 3-4 chapters (~60 mins) and a full mock exam for each A level in Feb of year 2.

In previous years we have run trips to local universities to see Maths and STEM lectures in person. Most of our students plan to go onto university or to an apprenticeship with some elements of further study. Most of the Further Maths students are aiming for further study on STEM courses at uni so this does provide good insight into this progression route.

For A-Level Mathematics you will need the following:

• A Cassio CLASSWIZ fx-991CW (or the newer fx-991EX) calculator. This is a scientific calculator with some extended features you will not need for GCSE but do need for A-Level. This can be bought through College or independently for £23-£25.
• Basic stationery like pens/rulers/highlighters but nothing specialist like compass/protractor
• Paper for rough work – lined or square is ideal
• You may wish to purchase your own version of the formula book which you will have access to in the exam. This is available from College for 40p.

We will provide:

• An A4 exercise book for making and retaining neat notes on the material covered in class. It is quite important to have a reference at hand for work covered in previous lessons or whilst revising for tests.
• Loan of textbooks from the College library and online access to the textbooks on devices like laptops and tablets.
• The vast majority of our resources are available online and printing them is not necessary.

Cirencester College is offering ‘Bring Your Own Device’ guidelines, in order to encourage digital literacy and make the most of how digital devices can support learning in the classroom and independent study. Please find below some specific guidance for this subject but do be aware that each subject will have its own guidance.

Maths: In this subject, students can get by without anything more than a smartphone. There will be essential communication via Teams and email as well as resources to access from the internet. Pen and paper is most student's default way of working but many students write on a tablet and email homework to their teacher. Other resources like the textbook can be borrowed from the library or accessed online giving students a choice of ways of working. There may be times when only having access to a phone is limiting in some way; but these can generally be navigated by using a machine (desktop / laptop) at home or in a study space in college. There are a number of laptops available for short-term loan at college, but availability on any given day is not guaranteed.

Screen Size: A device with a larger screen than a phone would make some ‘things’ easier eg downloading and completing a revision paper, viewing the online version of the textbook, accessing a powerpoint. We also find that the ability to hand-write with a touch screen /stylus is preferable for drawings, writing equations and formulae etc. For this reason, if students are investing in a device, we’d recommend a tablet with stylus or a touch-screen laptop. A tablet with stylus rather than a laptop is sufficient and probably relatively inexpensive (compared to a laptop).

Brands: Windows laptops are preferable to Apple (macOS) in STEM subjects. Lecturers use Windows and will use this platform to demonstrate processes, tasks etc in the classroom. We find the range of machines (incl. touchscreen) and software available, alongside budget considerations make Windows the preferred option. However, it is entirely possible to use a Mac instead if that is your preference; you may just end up with questions about how to manage software in the mac ecosystem which can take a bit more time to resolve.

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