Qualification levels¶
How UK pre-university maths is structured — the ladder that the admissions tests (and the rest of this site) refer to. The IB and Russian equivalents are approximate: they map roughly to content coverage, not to rigour or proof emphasis.
| Level | Stage (age) | Maths it covers | Approx. equivalents |
|---|---|---|---|
| GCSE | end of compulsory school (~15–16) | Foundational secondary maths — algebra, geometry, basic trigonometry, statistics. Little or no calculus. | IB MYP (final year); Russian ОГЭ / ~9th grade |
| AS-level (Advanced Subsidiary) | Year 12 (~16–17) | The first year of A-level — algebra & functions, coordinate geometry, sequences & series, trigonometry, logarithms, introductory calculus. | IB Maths SL (partial); Russian 10th–11th standard (база) |
| A-level | Year 13 (~17–18) | The full two-year qualification — AS content plus deeper calculus, mechanics, statistics. The standard UK university-entry maths. | IB Maths AA/AI HL; Russian profile (профильный) maths with начала анализа |
| Further Maths | an additional A-level, taken alongside A-level Maths | Complex numbers, matrices / linear algebra, advanced calculus, more proof. For the strongest maths students. | Beyond standard school in most systems → early-university material |
How it fits together¶
- A-level = AS (year 1) + A2 (year 2). AS is the lower half; the full A-level goes deeper.
- Further Maths is a separate, extra A-level — not "more of the same," but additional, harder topics (notably linear algebra and complex numbers) that standard A-level Maths doesn't cover.
- Since the 2015–17 English reforms, AS is a standalone qualification that no longer counts toward the A-level — but "AS-level content" still just means that first-year subset of the material.
A note on the equivalents¶
The IB and Russian mappings are rough. For example, Russian profile maths covers some calculus (начала анализа) but with less proof emphasis than A-level; IB HL is broad and includes some Further-Maths-style topics. Treat the table as "what's roughly covered," then confirm specifics with a content diagnostic rather than assuming an exact match.
The tests that sit on this ladder¶
UKMT/olympiad, TMUA, MAT, and STEP each assume a different rung of this ladder. What each covers and what it's for is on the Approach & preparation overview under Maths tests & benchmarks.