Math­em­at­ics is the study of patterns abstrac­ted from the world around us, so anything we learn in the subject has many applic­a­tions - in arts, sciences, finance, health and leis­ure. It has been described as “the Queen and Servant” of Science and lies at the core of scientific under­stand­ing, and of logical thought or argu­ment. The study of almost any scientific subject will inev­it­ably involve Math­em­at­ics. Hence, it is an invalu­able prepar­a­tion for careers in the areas of Science, Engin­eer­ing, Comput­ing, Medi­cine, Busi­ness, Finance and Accountancy.

Most further educa­tion courses require a GCSE grade of C or better in Math­em­at­ics, even those where Math­em­at­ics will not obvi­ously be used at all in the course. Math­em­at­ics is a subject where the more you put into it, the more you are likely to enjoy it. Attempt­ing ques­tions is the key to success­ful learn­ing; read­ing through your notes or the text­book is not sufficient.

The course covers the follow­ing areas:

Using and Apply­ing Math­em­at­ics - counts for 20% of the GCSE mark
Number and algebra - counts for 40% of the GCSE mark.
Shape and Space (Geometry and Trigo­no­metry) - counts for 20% of the GCSE mark.
Data Hand­ling - counts for 20% of the GCSE mark

You will be assessed solely through terminal exam­in­a­tions which count for 100% of the GCSE mark. You will sit two papers in June of year 11, one calcu­lator and one non-calculator paper each last­ing 1 hour 45 minutes.

The top GCSE set will be an accel­er­ated set with the aim of taking their exams in Novem­ber of year 11, or earlier. They will then imme­di­ately begin an exten­sion course such as the Core 1 module from AS maths.

The subject can be entered at one of two levels (Found­a­tion, or Higher), with increas­ing content at each level.

The Found­a­tion Tier is aimed at those who find the subject diffi­cult. There is less content with grades C to G being avail­able. We usually have one small group taking this tier.

The Higher Tier is very demand­ing and is aimed at grades A* to D. The top three groups  will work towards this tier of entry.

Entry at the correct tier is import­ant because any marks below the minimum level would lead to an unclas­si­fied result. A final decision as to your level of entry will be made after your child’s mock exam in year eleven.

Since 2009, course­work is no longer used as a means of assess­ment at GCSE. However, small pieces of course­work may be set from time to time to assist pupils in under­stand­ing and apply­ing some material.

Specific­a­tion: Edex­cel Math­em­at­ics A - Linear 1MAO
Click here to down­load the current specific­a­tion for this GCSE course.