A-level guide
A-level Further Maths
How the papers and options work, and how to prepare for the hardest A-level going
Abstract
A-level Further Maths is a second, separate A-level that builds on A-level Maths and goes considerably further. It is taken by students who enjoy maths for its own sake, and by anyone heading for a maths-heavy degree. This guide explains how the qualification is structured on each board, how the optional papers work, what the core pure content contains and how to prepare for it without falling behind in your other subjects.
1What Further Maths is, and who it is for
Further Maths is a full A-level in its own right, studied alongside A-level Maths. It assumes everything in A-level Maths and then adds a great deal more: complex numbers, matrices, proof by induction, hyperbolic functions, differential equations, and a choice of applied options. At least half of the qualification is pure mathematics, and the rest depends on the options you or your school choose.
Students take it for two reasons. The first is that they like maths and want more of it. The second is practical: for maths, physics, engineering, computer science and economics at many leading universities, Further Maths is either required or strongly preferred, and the first year of those degrees assumes a lot of it. Some universities also ask for an additional admissions test such as STEP, MAT or TMUA, so check the course pages early.
Schools organise the teaching differently. Some teach all of A-level Maths in Year 12 and all of Further Maths in Year 13. Others teach both in parallel over two years. Either way, every exam is sat at the end of Year 13.
2How the exams are structured
The structure varies more between boards than it does for A-level Maths.
| Board | Specification | Compulsory papers | Optional papers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edexcel | 9FM0 | Core Pure 1 and Core Pure 2 | Two options |
| AQA | 7367 | Paper 1 and Paper 2 (pure) | Paper 3, made up of two options |
| OCR A | H245 | Pure Core 1 and Pure Core 2 | Two options |
Edexcel. Four papers, each 1 hour 30 minutes and 75 marks, so each is worth 25%. Paper 3 is one of Further Pure 1, Further Statistics 1, Further Mechanics 1 or Decision Maths 1. Paper 4 is another option, which can be the second paper in an area (such as Further Mechanics 2) or a first paper in a different area.
AQA. Three papers, each 2 hours and 100 marks. Papers 1 and 2 are pure. Paper 3 combines two of three options, mechanics, statistics and discrete, with 50 marks on each.
OCR A. Two compulsory pure core papers plus two optional papers from statistics, mechanics, discrete mathematics and additional pure, each 1 hour 30 minutes and 75 marks.
On Edexcel and OCR A that is 90 minutes for 75 marks, and on AQA it is 120 minutes for 100 marks. Both come to the same rate:
OCR MEI (H645) has its own structure, with a longer core pure paper and a wider choice of options. If you are on MEI, your teacher will tell you which options your school takes.
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