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 GSCE maths.

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

1. Firstly you are to read the document “Preparation for Single Maths”.

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.

Summer Work Answer Sheet

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

Remember although you studied as much as previous year 11 students you have not been through the normal intense month of exam preparation and practice and that may be a weakness on your return. Not that you can’t understand the work but simply you haven’t had a chance to seriously use it. You’ve done the hours of training but missed the competition which would have made you match fit.

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, Mat Parker the stand-up Mathematician and anything by Alex Bellos is always good to read or watch.

Good luck everyone I hope you stay well during this unique time.

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.

Note for those students who studied AQA Further Maths GCSE

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! You should work through the Additional Maths lessons on MyMaths before looking at the preparation for Further Maths Document. If you find this self-study of the Additional Math content hard then we can usually arrange for you to be on the side of the course where we re-teach this content. However at this stage we expect you to give it your best shot.

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

1) Firstly you are to read the the document “Preparation for single maths”.

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.

Remember although you studied as much as previous year 11 students you have not been through the normal intense month of exam preparation and practice and that may be a weakness on your return. Not that you can’t understand the work but simply you haven’t had a chance to seriously use it. You’ve done the hours of training but missed the competition which would have made you match fit.

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 W 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 https://www.mathsisfun.com/ (maths is fun)

o https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z6vg9j6 (BBC Bitesize)

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://www.mrbartonmaths.com/students/gcse/mr-barton-ebook.ht

o http://mrbartonmaths.com/topics/

· Without comprising social distancing 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.