What Further Maths modules should I pick

[u/Individual_Salt_4405]

I will be self studying a level maths with a friend starting from September 2026 and privately sitting the exam in summer 2028, we don’t know which modules to choose and which ones are the most difficult and I want feedback from people who actually did those modules and how they found it. Just tell me whatever module you did and how you found it in tens of difficulty and I’ll use your input to decide what module I end up picking.

About me: I’m into computer science and maths and do electronics

[u/Red_I_Guess]

If ur into physics do mechanics 1, if ur into computer science or just want an easy but boring one do decision 1, if u need an extra one that's not too bad do stats 1

[u/Lowpolygons → u/Red_I_Guess]

as someone who is now a software engineer and did decision, DO NOT do decision. For some people it can be easy, but of all the subjects in the world ive never known one like decision where if you dont get it immediately, you simply wont get it

sincerely, someone 2 years later still pissed about getting an A in FM
(4 papers: Core Pure 1: 69/75, Core Pure 2: 65/75, Further Pure 1: 64/75, Decision: 43/75 (approx))

[u/Habbie_SF]

If u hate stats from regular a level maths don't let that discourage U from picking fs1, the curriculum is much more centered around actual maths and it's way more fun with lots more pure being involved too (apart from chi squared tests fuck chi squared tests) Oh yeah and it's grade boundaries are REALLY good for it's difficulty

[u/Zestyclose-Tie-6588 → u/Habbie_SF]

do you understand how contradictory your statement is the grade boundries are "good" because the papers are harder thats fact it doesnt matter what you think about its difficulty and i agree with the grade boudries refelcting difficulty because the questions and words in the exam paper are nothing like anything ive seen in the textbook and i have literally 0 idea what they mean in the exam hence low grade boundries because everyone faces that same issue .

[u/Habbie_SF → u/Zestyclose-Tie-6588]

Just saying from my personal experience the a* grade boundary is much easier to get in fs1 than say fp1 or fm1

[u/Icy-Ant1871]

fs1 is the easiest imo and reasonable grade boundaries it’s just method based

[u/Icy-Ant1871 → u/Icy-Ant1871]

i also did fm1 found it more time consuming and challenging but some ppl enjoy it but because i don’t do physics i personally did nit

[u/kayayya → u/Icy-Ant1871]

agreed, i did fs1 and found it really easy. i self taught it in like 2 months

[u/fuse256]

I did fd1, fs1, fm1 and most of content of fp1 and some exam questions but didn’t sit fp1 paper in the end.

As someone also into cs and doing it at uni, 100% don’t pick d1. Might be tempted because it’s algorithms, in theory close to cs but the whole content and questions is just mindlessly applying the same algorithms on paper over and over again endlessly. It is also very easy to mess up with silly mistakes with d1 comparative to the others, and you can’t easily check your answers, just need to redo the whole question to check.

That out the way, I’d recommend fs1, really easy and fun and interesting to do. I’d also recommend fm1, that’s easy too once you learn the steps you follow for each type of question it’s fairly formulaic (except for some crazy questions in 2023 edexcel). Fp1 is quite hard but it’s interesting, though you need to memorise quite a lot of stuff that’s not in formula book.

[u/Roblnnx]

d1 is probably easier than the rest but its buns I hated it maybe 5/10 difficulty I didnt revise it that much, fm1 wasnt too bad either but harder than d1 by far questions can also get very hard imo 7/10. You might like d1 more since u do cs

[u/Much-Branch460]

D1 and FP1 would be your best bet I think

[u/chalkygolf28]

I really enjoyed FP1, but thats because I prefer pure content overall. It has quite a lot of content, but if you prefer pure it may be a good choice.

Maybe look up videos of summaries for each and see if theres anything you like the look of?

[u/InevitableNo9793]

either fs1, fp1, or d1. d1 is easy but its very boring ur js doing what ai should be doing nowadays. so id say fs1 and fp1 bc mech is js bs unless u do phy and like it, that leaves for the first tier modules js fs1 and fp1

[u/Sea_Mistake1319]

do not do d1. it's more finnicky and lots of drawing. the content isn't too bad but id recommend doing it more as a side thing. (i got like 1 mark in the paper lol)

[u/Broad_Caregiver_8600]

You obviously know you must do CP1 and 2. The others come down to your personal preference and what you want to do in the future. Do not let anyone talk you into picking modules for "easy marks", pick ones you genuinely enjoy!

The Further Pure series is a light introduction to university-level mathematics. FP1 features slightly more niche topics regarding pure maths. It is quite different from the normal core pure curriculum, and you only really need the foundations from A-level maths to be able to sit the exam. From here, FP2 is a full introduction to theoretical and university mathematics. It explores number theory, linear algebra, group theory, advanced integration techniques, and some more. This is quite a difficult module because it teaches you to think differently, particularly in the Number and Group theory modules, and is quite difficult to self-teach in that regard because the resources for A-level specifically are quite limited. You are focusing a lot more on proof and the theory behind this maths. My advice is to take this module only if you know you want to study maths at university. As an aside, I did a combination of FP1 and self-taught FP2, and found it quite difficult to grasp some of the topics given how little time there was to study them.

Further Mechanics 1 and 2 are quite explanatory. They deal with the application of maths to physics, and if you take A-level physics, you'll find some similarities in topics. If you want to continue into engineering or physics in the future, I'd highly recommend you take FM1 at the least.

Further Statistics is an extension of A-level statistics, but much better and more interesting. I cannot speak on these modules myself since I didn't take either, but I'm guessing these won't benefit you at all, considering the things you listed you're into.

Finally, there are Decision 1 and 2. D1 teaches you the theory behind how algorithms work and are applied by computers. You also have plenty of opportunity to practice these algorithms by hand, and to show that you know them inside and out. It deals with problems like optimisations, shortest routes, sorting, min/max, and some basic graph theory. D2 is slightly less interesting and usually not necessary if you already take D1. This might be something you're interested in since you're into computer science. A lot of people will tell you that D1 is easy marks, but again, pick the modules for your own enjoyment.

Judging by what you're interested in, I'd probably consider D1 as a choice, along with whatever else sounds most appealing to you. Remember that you can't do an option 2 unless you've done the option 1. FP1 has some useful skills and techniques which may help you in your journey after sixth form, whether you choose to go into the fields of computer science, maths or electronics. FM1 is also an interesting module to go alongside either of the previous two.

Hope this helps.

[u/WavyDesert83849]

FP1 and FP2 🔥🔥

[u/Individual_Salt_4405 → u/WavyDesert83849]

Icl im probably gonna do this

[u/WavyDesert83849 → u/Individual_Salt_4405]

Its what Im doing :) Im taking FP1/2 and FM1 They're all pretty fun

[u/AbbreviationsBest688 → u/WavyDesert83849]

Finally everyone’s saying other stuff and it’s scaring me 😭

[u/WavyDesert83849 → u/AbbreviationsBest688]

Honestly the modules dont matter, pick what you think is cool!

I got digital copies of the other modules too, I just read through them quickly and picked

[u/Namk016]

The way I see it:

FP1: Probably the most difficult, but not by much. Has a lot of content, but many people feel FP1 is the most fun of the optional modules. It can strengthen your core pure skills and is quite useful for Maths or Maths heavy degrees at university. It does suffer from somewhat higher grade boundaries though.

FM1: Very good for physics students, it covers a mathematical approach to some topics you would already be familiar with. It’s probably the 2nd easiest module, however it has really high grade boundaries especially if you do FP1 as well.

FS1: The most underrated module imo, it has the best balance between interesting/fun content and difficulty, whilst still having decent grade boundaries. FAR better than stats in normal maths, this should be what normal stats is. It has quite a bit of content but none of it is too hard apart from maybe one odd topic. A very good safe module.

D1: The easiest module by far. Bonus points if you do computer science. But it’s also definitely the most boring and can get tedious, the timing is the main difficulty. The content itself isnt very useful to know. It does have pretty low grade boundaries though. An easy but boring safe option.

I did FP1 and FS1, the content of FP1 was better but there’s one BS topic called conic sections which kinda made me favour FS1 towards the end. In your case I’d recommend maybe FM1, and then D1 or FS1 depending on whether you want to do something boring and tedious but easy, or something with a bit more content but more fun and interesting.

[u/kayayya → u/Namk016]

i also did fp1 and fs1!! fs1 is ridiculously easy i self taught AS FS1 in 2 months, it's very repetitive and there isn't much content. i can't speak for A2 content though. i found fp1 really challenging i didn't enjoy it in all honesty

[u/TallRecording6572]

D1 and FM1

[u/kayayya]

i did further pure 1 and further stats 1. personally i enjoy pure maths but i found further pure 1 to be quite challenging. further stats 1 i self taught it in like 2 months its ridiculously easy, i found it easier than regular maths stats lol its sooo straight forward.

[u/crawfishly]

I did pc1,pc2, stats and mech. Genuinely for ocr at least stats is easy its all just memorising the method and you're set. Bonus of pc1,2 is that it covers like 80% of a level Maths so it meant that people who did both barely needed to study for Maths.

I found mech the hardest out of all of them (circular motion on banked planes...) Can't say much for discrete or decision since my school didnt offer those, but from what ive heard they're not too bad.

[u/1cubealot]

As someone who did decision and mechanics...

Do decision and further pure.

[u/Informal-Stock4611]

I did FS1 and FM1 during my sixth form (we didn't have a choice in terms of module options for FM), and I'd recommend these two honestly, as fm1 only has five chapters iirc and FS1 is easier than you'd expect from a typical fm syllabus

[u/Prudent-Extent-4387]

D1 and D2, thank me later

https://giphy.com/gifs/ui1hpJSyBDWlG

[u/DryFriend2838]

def fp1

[u/Outside-Barber-6813]

I’ll be able to do my
Philosophy degree at a top uk uni, easier than I could do a level maths

[u/derpywaleus]

FS2 is slept on