A-level Mathematics Apply now

Topics

The linear Mathematics A-level will comprise a combination of pure mathematics, statistics and mechanics.

• Pure mathematics topics include: Proof, Algebra and Functions, Coordinate Geometry, Sequences and Series, Trigonometry, Exponentials and Logarithms, Differentiation, Integration, Numerical Methods and Vectors.
• Statistics topics include: Statistical Sampling, Data Presentation and Interpretation, Probability, Statistical Distributions and Statistical Hypothesis Testing.
• Mechanics topics include: Quantities and Units in Mechanics, Kinematics, Forces and Newton’s Laws and Moments.

The course is taught by well qualified and experienced staff. Students will use technology such as Desmos, GeoGebra and Excel (amongst others) to help visualise equations and to explore the large data set provided by the examining board. Students are expected to do a substantial amount of revision and practice outside the classroom.

Methods of Assessment

The A-level course is assessed by written examinations taken in the summer of the second year. There is no assessed coursework element in this course but students are expected to have detailed knowledge of the large data set. This will be explored via the use of mini projects throughout the course.

All students will need to have access to the course textbooks and will be given free access to the online versions; alternatively, they may wish to purchase textbooks individually for the course at a total cost of about £75. The College library is well stocked with other Mathematics books, and students are encouraged to use online resources as appropriate.

Additional Costs

Students are also required to have an advanced scientific calculator capable of performing summary statistics. In most cases the calculator used for their GCSE does not meet this requirement. We recommend that students purchase the Casio Classwiz fx-991CW which retails for around £25-30 and is available online or in most supermarkets. There are cheaper Classwiz calculators available but these do not meet the requirements for A-level mathematics.

Students may also (or instead) wish to purchase a graphical calculator, in which case we recommend the Casio fx-CG50, but this is not a requirement for the course. Note that students do not need to have purchased a calculator before their course starts and that financial assistance is available via the College Bursary Scheme.

We offer support for students taking the Maths Challenge, STEP Maths and the Advanced Extension Award for Maths. This support is aimed at students capable of achieving A/A* in Maths and/or Further Maths. Oxford, Imperial, Warwick universities require an entrance exam for students wanting to study Maths, which is the MAT exam. We also offer support for the TMUA paper.

These are sat in November of the second year and we will do some preliminary work with students towards the end of the first year with assignments to be completed over the summer.

Students have gone on to university to study Mathematics, Computing, Sciences, Accounting, Finance, Engineering, Economics, Law, Medicine and Education. Many students studying Maths have gone on to top Russell Group universities.