AQA Level 2 Further Maths Teacher Development Series
For several years, the AMSP have been offering an annual series of online professional development sessions. This teacher development series is aimed at supporting teachers who will be setting up and delivering the AQA Level 2 Certificate in Further Mathematics.
The course has continued to grow in popularity and teachers can also find local support through their Area Coordinator. Schools registered with the AMSP have free access to a set of supporting resources in our Integral platform*, the construction of which was funded by AQA.
The Pearson Extended Maths Certificate
The Pearson Extended Maths Certificate (EMC) is aimed at a similar body of students to the AQA Level 2 Certificate. Since Pearson began to promote their course, we have been asked if the AMSP will be producing a similar national online PD course in support of this. We have carefully reviewed the new course, along with the materials provided on the Edexcel Maths Emporium site, to decide whether a new course would be appropriate.
Our conclusion is that, as the Pearson course contains, by design, almost no additional content above and beyond what is already covered in GCSE Maths there is insufficient need for a new, separate course. However, to support teachers beginning with this new course we have identified all sessions in the existing AQA national course that include content which would be helpful for the EMC. You can find details on each event page of where there is relevance to the EMC, a summary is in the table below.
Teachers taking up the Pearson EMC are also recommended to contact their local AMSP Area Coordinator as events preparing for the EMC are being held in a number of areas nationally.
Overview of Sessions and Content
| Date | AQA Course Session Title | EMC Content | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mon 07 Oct 2024 | Algebra 1: Polynomials and the factor theorem | Expanding, factorising, roots and inequalities of quadratics and polynomials. Factor theorem. | |
| Mon 11 Nov 2024 | Trigonometry | Trigonometric equations | The session will also include the use of trigonometric identities which is outside the scope of the EMC but is very useful knowledge for preparing for A level. |
| Wed 22 Jan 2025 | Calculus | The EMC does not include any calculus but teachers of this course may wish to attend this session in order to better prepare their students for post-16 study. | |
| Wed 26 Feb 2025 | Matrices | The Pearson EMC does not include any matrices but teachers of this course may wish to attend this session in order to better prepare their students for post-16 study. | |
| Thu 15 May 2025 | The binomial expansion | Pascal’s triangle. The binomial expansion. Binomial problem solving. | |
| Thu 12 Jun 2025 | Algebra 2: A suite of algebraic techniques | Domain and range of a function. | The Pearson EMC does not include nth terms of linear and quadratic sequences, limits of sequences or simultaneous equations in three unknowns but teachers of this course who wish to better prepare their students for post-16 study may wish to attend anyway. |
| Wed 09 Jul 2025 | Circles | Circles with centre (a,b). Circle theorems. Problem solving with circles. |
*Please log in to Integral with an AMSP registration account to view these resources.