Your child is taking A Level Maths, but you may not know which course or exam board the school follows. The subject name does not settle the question because UK and international qualifications can use different papers and calculator rules. You can share the qualification title and specification code when asking about support from an A Level Maths tutor.
Before anything else
- Start with two recent official past papers and record the qualification title and code shown on each cover.
- Different A Level Maths qualifications can use different paper structures and calculator rules.
- If the codes are missing or the papers disagree, ask the school to confirm the qualification title and specification code.
- A paper from another board is a reason to ask the school a question, not proof that anything has gone wrong.
Your child may be using past papers from a different exam board
A past paper can look familiar even when it belongs to a different qualification. UK and international A Level Maths courses can use different structures and calculator rules, so the course code on the cover matters.
The papers can differ in ways that affect revision. Cambridge International 9709 does not permit graphical calculators, and its syllabus requires candidates to show the necessary working because unsupported calculator answers receive no marks. Pearson IAL permits calculators that meet its rules, divides the qualification into units, and offers exam series in January, June and October. These differences are one reason to base exam preparation on the course your child follows.
This does not mean the school has supplied the wrong material. A school may use questions from another board deliberately. Revision for the real exams should still centre on official past papers from the course your child follows.
You are not sure which exam board your child’s school uses
Your child may not know the answer, and a textbook may not settle it because one book can cover more than one board. An official past-paper cover gives you a more reliable place to look.
The cover-sheet check
- Find two recent official past papers. Use papers the school has used or recommended for revision. Start with official past papers rather than school mocks, because an internal mock can carry a school cover with no exam-board code on it.
- Read the front cover of each. Look for the qualification title and the specification or paper code: 9709 is Cambridge International, 9MA0 is Pearson Edexcel, 7357 is AQA, H240 is OCR, and Pearson IAL papers carry codes such as WMA11 and WMA12.
- Write down what you find and compare. Check whether the two covers point to the same qualification.
- If a code is missing or the covers disagree, ask the school. The school should be able to confirm the qualification title and specification code.
This check can show which exam board produced each paper and whether the papers appear to belong to the same route. It cannot confirm the school’s entry decision, explain lost marks, or measure your child’s level. A paper from another board is a reason to ask a question, not proof that anything has gone wrong.
Check the cover sheet first
Before choosing revision guides, read the covers of two official past papers from the school. Knowing the course gives you a clearer basis for choosing revision materials and telling a tutor which qualification your child follows.
Do you want your child’s A Level Maths practice to match the papers they will sit?
Tell us the course and exam board your child follows so that information can be considered when matching. In lessons, the tutor can use questions from the course your child is studying.
Enquire about a first lessonYour child knows the maths but their exam answers do not show it
If your child can complete familiar methods but their exam answers do not show the same control, the exam board may be only one part of the question. A marked paper alone cannot establish the cause. A tutor can watch how your child works through a question instead of relying only on the finished answer.
In one A Level Maths lesson on exponential modelling, the student completed the logarithm and algebra steps, then paused when the question moved to differentiation. The tutor asked the student to write the derivative before substituting any numbers. This put the method on the page before the arithmetic began.
One question from one lesson cannot explain why another child pauses. It does show a distinction worth checking. Completing a familiar method is not the same as recognising when a particular question requires it. In this modelling question, the rate-of-change wording required a derivative without using the word differentiation.
What a tutor watches while your child works
A finished answer may not show everything that happened while your child was working. In a lesson, the tutor can watch which method your child reaches for, how they set out the notation, whether they use the result of a previous step and where they slow down. Those observations give the tutor something concrete to work on, while the marked answer may show only the result.
A related observation from university-admissions maths teaching is that unfamiliar question wording can affect how a student begins. This does not establish why a particular child paused. It gives the tutor another possibility to check by comparing how the child starts familiar and unfamiliar question forms. Questions from the correct course provide practice with the wording and structure of the papers the child will sit.
Does your child need to practise A Level Maths questions from their own course?
An A Level Maths tutor from Greenhill Academics can work through questions from your child’s course on the shared whiteboard. Lessons are online and can be arranged around the school week in Abu Dhabi.
Ask about a tutorHow an A Level Maths tutor in Abu Dhabi can match revision to the papers your child will sit
Tell us the course and exam board your child follows so that information can be considered when matching. In lessons, the tutor can use questions from the course your child is studying.
Lessons are online on a shared whiteboard, at times that can be arranged around the school week in Abu Dhabi. If the cover-sheet check leaves you unsure of the qualification, send the enquiry and ask the school to confirm it.
What a lesson looks like
A Greenhill Academics online lesson recorded live on the shared whiteboard. A Level Maths lessons use the same online format.
Holly and Ramsay both teach A Level Maths
Two Oxford mathematicians
Holly · Mathematics, Oxford
Holly is reading for an MMath in Mathematics at Exeter College, Oxford, where she holds Collections Prizes from 2023 and 2024. She achieved two A* grades in Maths and Further Maths at A Level and prepares students for the MAT and maths olympiads.
Ramsay · Mathematics, Oxford
Ramsay is a third-year Mathematics student at Exeter College, Oxford, with a Distinction in Prelims and Distinctions in both rounds of the British Mathematical Olympiad, placing in the top 40 nationally. He achieved five A* grades at A Level, including Maths and Further Maths.
Questions to ask about A Level Maths tutoring in Abu Dhabi
How do I find out which exam board my child’s school uses for A Level Maths?
Look at the front covers of two recent official past papers the school has used or recommended for revision. Look for the qualification title and a code, such as 9709 or 9MA0. If the papers do not settle it, the school should be able to confirm the qualification title and specification code.
How does my child’s exam board affect tutor matching?
Tell us the course and exam board your child follows so that information can be considered when matching. In lessons, the tutor can use questions from the course your child is studying.
My child’s school gives out practice papers from a different board. Is that a problem?
No. A practice paper from another board does not by itself prove there is a problem. A school may use another board’s questions deliberately, but revision for the real exams should centre on past papers from the course your child follows. If the paper source is unclear, the school should be able to confirm the qualification title and specification code.
How do I find an A Level Maths tutor in Abu Dhabi who fits my child’s course?
Send an enquiry about A Level Maths support. Tell us the course and exam board your child follows so that information can be considered when matching. Lessons are online and can be arranged around the school week in Abu Dhabi.
What changes once I know my child’s exam board?
You know which past papers to revise from, what the calculator rules allow in the exam room, and how many papers or units the course involves. Practice can then match the papers your child will sit.
Does your child need A Level Maths revision that matches the papers they will sit?
Tell us the course and exam board your child follows so that information can be considered when matching.
Send an enquiry