Mathematics A Level

Before submitting your application to Wyke Sixth Form College, please ensure that you have added

1. Personal Details (including Home Address, Email Address and Contact Number)
2. A full list of all of your predicted grades

Without this information we will be unable to process your application and will refer this back to you until it is fully complete.

This course is for you if you enjoy Mathematics and also achieved well at GCSE Mathematics. An essential part of Mathematics is the challenge of analysing and solving a problem and the satisfaction and confidence gained from achieving a ‘correct’ answer. However, a big difference between GCSE and A Level is the depth of knowledge and understanding needed. If you want to understand why, rather than just being able to “do” Mathematics, then through A Level Maths your depth of knowledge and understanding will grow. The exams for A Level Maths are taken after your 2 years of the course and they will be different to what you faced in GCSE as they will test a lot more of your understanding. There are many marks for showing how you got the answer; if you choose Maths you will not have to write essays, but you will need to be able to communicate well in written work to explain your solutions.

We are a team of highly experienced teachers of Mathematics, teaching in dedicated mathematics classrooms. All of the teachers in the department are specialists in teaching at A Level, and are highly motivated to help you to reach your potential.

This is a two year course, with all exams taken at the end of the second year. The course is made up of a combination of pure and applied mathematics.

The course will develop your understanding of:

The fundamental theories and concepts of Mathematics.

The practical applications of Mathematics to other areas.

Logical problem solving.

Algebra

Graphs

Trigonometry

Pure Mathematics

The pure Mathematics content builds on the following skills you will have gained from your Maths GCSE such as algebra, graphs and trigonometry. This content will also teach about new topics such as:

Calculus and Exponentials.

Mechanics including work on forces and Newton’s laws of motion and applies Mathematical modelling to simple problems.

Statistics builds on work on averages and probabilities from GCSE and introduces topics such as probability distributions and correlation.

While many of the ideas you will meet in pure Mathematics are interesting in their own right, they also serve as an important foundation for other branches of Mathematics, especially Mechanics and Statistics.

Applied Mathematics

The applied content of the course covers:

Mechanics including work on forces and Newton’s laws of motion and applies Mathematical modelling to simple problems.

Statistics builds on work on averages and probabilities from GCSE and introduces topics such as probability distributions and correlation.

You will have one teacher for the course each year. You will receive 4 lessons each week and you be required to complete additional work out of lessons, some of which requires you producing worked solutions to exam-type questions. Lessons include a variety of group, paired and individual work; resources you will draw on include text books and exam questions as well as websites.

Support outside lessons is available, both informally and formally. Regular “mathematics support” sessions are run during the college week and all of the department are available for support at lunchtime.

100% Examination

Information on course specific and pathway specific entry criteria can be found on our website.

Students have gone on to a wide variety of careers from their Mathematics A Level. These include; Mathematics at York, Biochemistry at Queen Mary University London, Natural Sciences at Cambridge, Aeronautical Engineering at Loughborough University and Mechanical Engineering at Newcastle University.