AQA folds the mechanics and statistics into the pure papers, so there is nowhere for a shaky bit of pure to hide. When a Year 12 mock slips on 7357, it is almost always the pure underneath. We match your child with a tutor who knows the AQA papers cold.
A 40-minute consultation about AQA A-Level Maths. Joe calls you back within one working day, then sends two or three tutors with free trial calls.
AQA 7357 is fully linear: three papers at the end of Year 13, each two hours and 100 marks, no coursework and nothing banked from Year 12. Where AQA differs from Edexcel is that it does not keep the applied content in one place. The mechanics is stitched into one pure paper and the statistics into another, so the pure runs through all three papers and a weak patch shows up everywhere.
Paper 1: Pure
Two hours, 100 marks, pure only. Proof, algebra and functions, coordinate geometry, sequences, trigonometry, exponentials, differentiation and integration. The foundation the other two papers build on.
Paper 2: Pure and Mechanics
Two hours, 100 marks. More pure, then a mechanics section: kinematics, forces and Newton's laws. Your child switches from pure technique to modelling a moving object inside the same exam.
Paper 3: Pure and Statistics
Two hours, 100 marks. Pure again, plus statistics built around the pre-released large data set. If your child has not met that data before exam day, the context questions give away easy marks.
Where the marks are
AQA runs pure through all three papers, so this is where the grade is decided. Tutors trace the algebra and functions the mocks keep exposing, then build up through the harder Year 13 pure until the method marks stop leaking.
Papers 2 and 3 ask your child to move from pure into mechanics, then pure into statistics, inside a single two-hour exam. Tutors drill that gear change and the timing, so the applied section never gets rushed at the end.
AQA's statistics questions lean on a data set handed out in advance. A tutor works through it so the context is familiar, not foreign. There is a formula booklet in the exam too, and knowing what is in it and what has to be memorised is its own skill.
From enquiry to first session
When you enquire, Joe calls you back to find a time that suits. You talk through your child's AQA Maths, the predicted grade and whether it is the pure or the applied sections pulling the mark down. From there he starts working out which tutors would genuinely fit.
Joe sends a shortlist of tutors he thinks could work, and each offers a free trial call. You watch how they explain a proof or a mechanics question, and see who your child actually clicks with. No commitment, no card details, no pressure.
You choose the tutor that feels right, and weekly sessions start on Lessonspace, our shared online whiteboard. You pay per session, there are no contracts, and if at any point it is not working, you stop.
Verified Google reviews
Real reviews from real Degree Gap families, all verified on Google. We chose ones that speak to A-Level and the step up that catches Maths students out.
My son gained almost two grades higher than his year 13 mock paper. His tutor was excellent.
Before joining The Degree Gap, I found it hard to follow the curriculum. The sessions helped everything click. Lessons were calm, focused, and easy to understand. Highly recommend.
Very engaging lessons that helped me improve my grade in maths and successfully get admitted to university.
Joe calls you back within one working day. He will ask which paper is slipping, the predicted grade and what you have already tried, then send two or three tutors with free trial calls so you can pick the one your child clicks with. No sales pitch.
Three, all at the end of Year 13. Paper 1 is pure only. Paper 2 is pure with a mechanics section. Paper 3 is pure with a statistics section. Each is two hours and 100 marks, it is fully linear, and there is no coursework, so the whole grade comes down to those three exams.
AQA spreads the applied content into the pure papers rather than isolating it. Edexcel keeps its two pure papers separate and bolts all the applied into one paper; AQA puts mechanics in Paper 2 and statistics in Paper 3, each next to pure. Same maths, different shape. What matters is that your child is taught for the paper they actually sit, which is why we match on the exam board, not just the subject.
Very. AQA's papers assume the GCSE algebra is automatic, then stack proof, heavier functions and calculus on top. Plenty of students who walked out of GCSE Maths grinning hit a wall in the first term. It is the single biggest step in the curriculum, and it is fixable. We start with a diagnostic to find exactly which bit of the pure is leaking marks.
It is a set of real data AQA releases before the exam, and the Paper 3 statistics questions are built around it. Students who have never opened it lose marks on context they could have seen coming. A tutor works through it with your child so those questions feel familiar.
Yes. AQA provides a formula booklet and students can use a graphical or scientific calculator. But the booklet is large, and knowing where things are, plus which formulae are not in it and have to be memorised, is its own skill. Tutors make sure your child is not hunting through pages under time pressure.
Yes. Every session runs on Lessonspace, our shared online whiteboard, so the tutor can work through a proof or a mechanics question line by line and you keep the recording. Most students focus better one-to-one online than in a full class. We do not do in-person.
One free 40-minute call with Joe. Trial two or three tutors before you pay a penny.
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