Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Advanced level mathematics
open-in-new
<p>Advanced Level (A-Level) Mathematics is a qualification of <a href="/facts/Further_education/6Jpqtlxl">further education</a> taken in the <a href="/facts/United_Kingdom/kuPAILt2">United Kingdom</a> (and occasionally other countries as well). In the UK, <a href="/facts/GCE_Advanced_Level_(United_Kingdom)/cEf93WEY">A-Level</a> exams are traditionally taken by 17-18 year-olds after a two-year course at a <a href="/facts/Sixth_form/rbkHkeGh">sixth form</a> or <a href="/facts/College/PejltRvj">college</a>. Advanced Level Further Mathematics is often taken by students who wish to study a mathematics-based degree at university, or related degree courses such as physics or computer science. </p><p>Like other A-level subjects, mathematics has been assessed in a modular system since the introduction of <a href="/facts/Curriculum_2000/oN4C75N1">Curriculum 2000</a>, whereby each candidate must take six modules, with the best achieved score in each of these modules (after any retake) contributing to the final grade. Most students will complete three modules in one year, which will create an AS-level qualification in their own right and will complete the A-level course the following year—with three more modules. </p><p>The system in which mathematics is assessed is changing for students starting courses in 2017 (as part of the A-level reforms first introduced in 2015), where the reformed specifications have reverted to a linear structure with exams taken only at the end of the course in a single sitting. </p><p>In addition, while schools could choose freely between taking Statistics, Mechanics or Discrete Mathematics (also known as Decision Mathematics) modules with the ability to specialise in one branch of applied Mathematics in the older modular specification, in the new specifications, both Mechanics and Statistics were made compulsory, with Discrete Mathematics being made exclusive as an option to students pursuing a Further Mathematics course. The first assessment opportunity for the new specification is 2018 and 2019 for A-levels in Mathematics and Further Mathematics, respectively. </p>