Further Maths
A level further maths extends the work that you have covered in the normal A Level maths. There are four main parts of the course – pure maths which extends the algebra, graphs and trigonometry work you covered in normal maths
Statistics extends probability and data handling. Mechanics extends to cover work done and energy. There is also a new topic that you won’t have met before called discrete. This doesn’t look like any maths you’ve met before – we look at some strange graphs that model things like how a sat nav works.
We cover all of the normal A Level maths in Year 12 and then cover the Further maths in Year 13. This means that you will benefit from having studied both when you do the exams at the end of Year 13
Frequently asked questions
What are the entry requirements?
We would be looking for students to have around a grade 8 or higher at GCSE. You must also choose to study A Level maths.
What support is available?
We run maths help clinics every lunchtime where you can ask for help with homework or go through any questions you’ve struggled on
Do I need to buy any specialist equipment?
You’ll need to buy either a classwiz fx 991ex (available from SMC for £20, between £25-£30 online) or a graphical calculator (available from SMC for £60, between £90 and £100 online). Students can download free graphing apps for their phones from Geogebra and Desmos that may be used in class to explore graphs. Students are provided with textbooks and a course handbook containing topic tests and a variety of papers.
What are the exams like?
You have 3 exams at the end of Year 13, each exam is 2 hours long and calculators can be used in all three exams. You will take two pure exams but there is a choice of modules for the applied content – you need to pick two from further statistics, further mechanics and discrete.
