We have always asked our students to do preparatory work for Further Maths A level in the Summer before they start the course. Mathematics as a subject relies on a high level of ability in many dozens of skills and a weakness in one can make studying A level maths very difficult. You have been studying Maths for many years now and you know how hard you need to work to have those skills ready for every lesson and not simply have them vaguely in your mind waiting to be revised. A level is different. You will need all of your skills in your mind all of the time; you are expected to have mastered all of GCSE maths.

This year is exceptional and so your preparatory work has three stages

1. Firstly you are to read the document “Single Summer Work - Bridging the Gap”.

This is a guide designed by the exam boards to get you ready for A levels. You should attempt a few questions from EVERY exercise. If the notes provided are not good enough then see below for suggestions of getting independent help.

2. Secondly you are to review the document “Preparation for Further Maths”

This guide is based on preparing you for the pure maths found in the first year of the new A level. You just need to look at that document to be aware what is coming up and you can of course try as many questions as you wish. We will be teaching you this content anyway but it will get you off to an amazing start. Again If the notes provided are not good enough then see below for suggestions of getting independent help.

3. Please complete the answer sheet found via the link below. It contains specific questions from the single maths guide and it will be taken in and assessed within the first week of term. This workbook should be completed fairly close to your return to school so you have refreshed your skills and are ready to start from lesson 1.

There will be a timed assessment called the diagnostic test within your first two weeks of A level and it will cover this content.

If the notes provided are not good enough to help you understand then you should work through the suggestions below on how to tackle problems independently.

Remember this is also a good time to explore general mathematics. The Numeberphile youtube channel is very good, Matt Parker the stand-up Mathematician and anything by Alex Bellos is always good to read or watch.

Good luck everyone!

Dr W and the maths department

We have always asked our students to do preparatory work for Further Maths A level in the summer before they start the course. Mathematics as a subject relies on a high level of ability in many dozens of skills and a weakness in one can make studying A level maths very difficult. You have been studying Maths for many years now and you know how hard you need to work to have those skills ready for every lesson and not simply have them vaguely in your mind waiting to be revised. A level is different. You will need all of your skills in your mind all of the time; you are expected to have mastered all of the GSCE maths skills and for this particular course you are expected to know those from your extra qualification.

The Pure maths in A level is very much like the content of the Additional Maths course and we don’t propose to teach you it again, instead we will assume that we can recap this knowledge quickly. This gives us options to teach you additional content in Year 13.

If you have studied AQA Further Maths GCSE then there will be content you have not studied, but we know you have been considered to possess an above average mathematical ability by virtue of taking the course!  However, you may be in a group with people who have studied Additional Maths so may want to look at what they have covered here. 

Your preparatory work has three stages:

1)  Firstly you are to read the the document “Singles Summer Work - Bridging the Gap”.

 This is a guide designed by the exam boards to get you ready for A levels. You should attempt a few questions from EVERY exercise. If the notes provided are not good enough then see below for suggestions of getting independent help. 

2)  Secondly you are to read in detail the document “Preparation for Further maths”

 This guide is based on preparing you for the pure maths found in the first year of the new A level. You should read the examples in detail and aim to be in a position where you can answer those questions at the end of the booklet. Again If the notes provided are not good enough then see below for suggestions of getting independent help. 

3)  Please complete the questions at the end of the Preparation for Further Maths Work

It contains specific questions for this level of maths and it will be taken in and assessed within the first week of term. These questions should be completed fairly close to your return to school so you have refreshed your skills and are ready to start from lesson 1.

There will be a timed assessment called the diagnostic test within your first two weeks of A level and it will cover the Additional content.

If the notes provided are not good enough to help you understand then you should work through the suggestions below on how to tackle problems independently.

Good luck everyone I hope you find this useful.

Dr Wainwright and the Maths department

·         Searching for a relevant MyMaths lesson. You can find the relevant code in the scheme of work or you can filter for the topic using the side topics in MyMaths itself. Make sure you read the lesson before trying the homework.

·         Having a look at an instructional video on: -

o   https://www.khanacademy.org/  (Khan Academy)

o   https://www.mathsgenie.co.uk/gcse.html  (maths genie)

o   https://corbettmaths.com/contents/  (corbett maths)

o   Be clever about your searching, use google in general and CRTL f on the site itself.

·         Look for a relevant Dr. Frost Powerpoint - You’ll find these in the maths part of the student information google drive. You’ll need to open them in “slides” to get the full interactivity.

·         Looking at the Kerboodle Textbook accessible from RM-unify. Goto Maths and then the foundation or higher textbook as used in the task. (institution code zrm3)

·         Search on Mr. Barton Maths:

o   http://mrbartonmaths.com/topics/

·         Ask a parent, sibling or a friend (people like helping people, so don’t be shy!)

·         If you are struggling with a graph question then try using https://www.desmos.com/calculator or GeoGebra to plot the graph.