UK
A-Level Mathematics
A level Mathematics in England: a linear qualification of three 2-hour papers covering pure mathematics, statistics and mechanics, set by AQA, Pearson Edexcel and OCR on shared national content.
Exam Format
Questions
Three papers of 100 marks each, each worth one third of the grade, with every question compulsory. Pure mathematics, statistics and mechanics all count, and the split differs by board: Edexcel sets two pure papers plus a statistics and mechanics paper, AQA adds mechanics to Paper 2 and statistics to Paper 3, and OCR pairs a pure section with a statistics or mechanics section of about 50 marks each on Papers 2 and 3.
Duration
3 papers of 2 hours each, 6 hours in total, all sat in the same May/June series. In June 2027, Edexcel's papers fall on 26 May, 9 June and 16 June.
Scoring
300 marks in total, graded A* to E on the combined total; individual papers are not graded. Results for the June 2027 series are released on 12 August 2027.
Calculator
A calculator is allowed on every paper and must have an iterative function and statistical distribution functions. Edexcel bans calculators with symbolic algebra, differentiation or integration; OCR allows scientific or graphical calculators. Edexcel provides a formulae booklet, OCR prints formulae in each paper, and some formulae must be memorised.
Study Strategies
- 1Treat pure mathematics as the core of the course: at Edexcel and OCR it carries about two thirds of the marks, and AQA can test pure content on all three papers, so algebra, trigonometry, differentiation and integration have to be fluent before anything else.
- 2Study your board's large data set during the course, not in the final week: statistics questions assume you know its context and terminology and are designed to reward students who have explored it with a spreadsheet.
- 3Learn your calculator's statistics functions properly: binomial and normal probabilities, summary statistics and the iterative function save minutes on every statistics paper.
- 4Memorise the formulae your board expects you to know, such as the quadratic formula and the laws of logarithms on Edexcel, and practise finding the rest quickly in the formulae booklet or on the paper's formula pages.
- 5Sit full 2-hour past papers under timed conditions and mark them with the official mark scheme: answers are expected to be supported by working, so practise setting out every step, not just reaching the final number.
How Math Zen Helps
Math Zen's A-Level Maths path covers the Pure and Statistics content shared by all three boards, including algebra, functions, trigonometry, exponentials and logarithms, differentiation, integration, vectors, probability, the normal and binomial distributions, and hypothesis testing. Mechanics is not covered yet, so pair the app with your board's mechanics past papers.
Topics Covered
Algebra
10 subtopics, 29 templates
Functions
5 subtopics, 10 templates
Graph Analysis
4 subtopics, 10 templates
Logarithms
4 subtopics, 9 templates
Geometry
12 subtopics, 29 templates
Parametric Curves
2 subtopics, 4 templates
Sequences & Series
7 subtopics, 17 templates
Trigonometry
5 subtopics, 12 templates
Derivatives
12 subtopics, 24 templates
Integrals
19 subtopics, 22 templates
Differential Equations
7 subtopics, 14 templates
Vectors
5 subtopics, 13 templates
Probability
7 subtopics, 16 templates
Statistics
8 subtopics, 16 templates