Curriculum – Mathematics

Why study A-level Mathematics?

Mathematics is beautiful. Mathematics is clear and complex. Mathematics is enlightening and ever challenging. Mathematics is about studying and investigating pattern and structure. If you enjoy the challenge and the clarity that solving mathematical problems brings then A-level Mathematics is for you.

At the NCS you will discover the truly fascinating nature of mathematics. We will not only equip you with a strong set of skills that would enable you to access the A-level course, we will also teach you how to think at a higher level and become true Mathematicians. Your lessons will be clear and interactive. Your teachers will be passionate and engaging. Above all, we will ensure that you have everything you need to achieve your absolute best.

By choosing Mathematics you keep your pathways open. As a mathematician, your ability to think in a clear and logical way will be highly sought after by universities and employers alike. If you chose to pursue a Mathematics degree it would open up a host of career paths including finance, statistics, engineering, computing, teaching or accountancy. Graduates in mathematics are amongst the top earners in the country.

Edexcel course content

Pure Mathematics: Pure Mathematics underpins the entire subject. You will develop your knowledge of algebra and functions. You will study coordinate geometry in the (x,y) plane and you will look at sequences. You will also begin to explore the highly important idea of calculus.

Later in the year, you will study trigonometry and exponentials and logarithms. You will develop your applications of calculus such as using differentiation to solve maxima and minima problems.

Statistics: Here you will look at mathematical models in probability and statistics. You will extend your ideas of how to represent and summarise data. You will also learn about discrete random variables, discrete distributions and the normal distribution. You will learn about the mechanism for which science is undertaken and performed – The Hypothesis Test.

Mechanics: Here you will explore the fascinating ideas of kinematics of a particle moving, the dynamics of a particle in motion, moments and modelling using vectors. We will consider Newton’s three laws and use them to model particles on slopes.

NCS Mathematics Enrichment

At the NCS we provide a rich and varied extra-curricular programme. For those wishing to study Mathematics at Cambridge, Oxford and other top universities we run Oxbridge preparation classes every week. These classes go beyond the A-Level curriculum, providing both depth and breadth. For Year 13s there is a focus on students taking the Oxford MAT and Cambridge STEP entrance exams.

In addition we run a series of Mathematics lectures, with speakers from the worlds of Pure Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Industry. Previous speakers have included Oxford mathematicians Vicky Neale and David Acheson, author and journalist Simon Singh and the founder of the UKMT Tony Gardner.

Our weekly Maths society explores a wide range of mathematics and arranges trips and challenges. These have included Mathematics theatre trips, the Cipher Challenge, UKMT individual and team challenges as well as many talks both external and at the NCS.

We run weekly tutorial sessions with undergraduates from LSE and UCL. These allow students to take part in undergraduate-tutorials with students studying Mathematics at Russell Group universities.

Further reading

• Kanigel, The Man Who Knew Infinity
• Paul Hoffman, The Man Who Loved Only Numbers
• Gardner, The Colossal Book of Mathematics
• Eli Maor, To Infinity and Beyond
• David Acheson, 1089 and All That
• Marcus Du Sautoy, A Mathematician’s Journey Through Symmetry

Examination Board: Edexcel

_{Disclaimer: The information on this page is to be used as guidance only. The course availability and content is subject to change based on demand and time-tabling.}

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