Hi everyone,
I've been debating for quite a while in regard to whether I should do Specialist Maths or Further Maths.
These are the subjects I am currently enrolled in:
English
Chemistry
Specialist
Tertiary Hebrew (this is not a full subject)
My reasoning for wanting to do Further:
- A less competitive environment- I get more anxious in a competitive class so this is better for me
- I can be with my friends
- The workload is lighter- meaning I can put a lot more focus into English and Chemistry
- The maths is easier
I tried doing a Further Maths exam today (the first part at least) to see how difficult it was. Out of the core, I managed to answer 15 out of the 24 questions having been barely exposed to any Further curriculum, and got 10 of those correct. I didn't bother with the modules yet but I definitely will try them later- my school does Matrices and Networks.
My worries for Further:
- Quite a few Methods kids in my cohort are doing it
- I am prone to making silly mistakes quite often
- The subject is very competitive
- The English/ reasoning based questions may trick me
My reasoning for doing Spesh:
- I didn't find Spesh 1/2 too difficult (averaged about 75%) but there were difficult sections
- Did Methods so I have a decent background of maths- I got a 41 in Methods but I did worse than I desired in the exams.
- The maths is interesting
My worries for Spesh:
- The class is extremely competitive (there is lots of high-achieving Methods kids in it) which will make me quite anxious (I don't cope too well with this kind of environment lol)
- The curriculum may be quite hard
- The workload is heavy and may detract from my other subjects
Honestly, I'm really stuck as to what to pick. Ultimately, I want to do the best I possibly can, but I want to ensure I minimise how anxious and tense I am going to feel, so the easier questions in Further may be better. Indeed, I am more regulated to Methods/ Spesh style questions and it is definitely good knowing I can afford to make silly mistakes (which may be triggered if I get nervous or feel pressure in the exams). Again, Spesh seems very difficult but that may be because the year hasn't actually started yet.
I would really appreciate any advice you could give me!!