Cambridge A Level Maths Tutors Online

Cambridge A Level Maths is syllabus 9709. This page works from the syllabus for exams in 2026 and 2027. Exams are available in the June and November series, and also in the March series in India.

Note the window first: this syllabus covers exams in 2026 and 2027, and there is no 2025 sitting for it. A student sitting in 2025 was on the previous edition.

There are six components and an A Level candidate takes four of them. Papers 1 and 3 are compulsory, and then the student chooses either Papers 4 and 5, or Papers 5 and 6.

Paper 1 is Pure Mathematics 1. It lasts 1 hour 50 minutes, carries 75 marks, and contains 10 to 12 structured questions. It is worth 30% of the A Level and is compulsory for both AS Level and A Level.

Paper 3 is Pure Mathematics 3. It also lasts 1 hour 50 minutes and carries 75 marks, with 9 to 11 structured questions. It is worth 30% of the A Level, and it is compulsory for A Level.

So the two compulsory pure papers carry 60 per cent of the A Level between them. Everything else is 20 per cent each.

Paper 4 is Mechanics, lasting 1 hour 15 minutes with 50 marks and 6 to 8 structured questions. It is worth 20% of the A Level.

Paper 5 is Probability and Statistics 1, lasting 1 hour 15 minutes with 50 marks and 6 to 8 structured questions. It is worth 20% of the A Level.

Paper 6 is Probability and Statistics 2, lasting 1 hour 15 minutes with 50 marks and 6 to 8 structured questions. It is worth 20% of the A Level only.

The first detail families need to know is that Paper 5 is compulsory at A Level. The syllabus marks it as compulsory for A Level, and it appears on both A Level routes. So Probability and Statistics 1 cannot be avoided by a student who would rather do more mechanics.

The second is that Paper 2 is offered only as part of AS Level. Paper 2 is Pure Mathematics 2, worth 40% of the AS Level, and it does not exist on the A Level. A student who takes Paper 1 and Paper 2 for the AS Level cannot carry that combination forward to complete the A Level.

That is the single most consequential mistake in this qualification. The AS route of Paper 1 plus Paper 2 looks like the natural pure maths choice, and it is a dead end for anyone who later wants the full A Level.

The third is that Paper 4 and Paper 6 never appear together. The two A Level routes are Papers 4 and 5, or Papers 5 and 6. So a student who takes Mechanics cannot also take Probability and Statistics 2.

In practice that gives two real A Level shapes. Route one is Pure Mathematics 1, Pure Mathematics 3, Mechanics and Probability and Statistics 1. Route two is Pure Mathematics 1, Pure Mathematics 3, Probability and Statistics 1 and Probability and Statistics 2.

The choice matters for university plans. Mechanics supports physics and engineering applications. Probability and Statistics 2 goes deeper into distributions, sampling, estimation and hypothesis testing, which is the foundation for economics, psychology, biology and data work.

The content of Paper 3 explains why Paper 2 cannot stand in for it. Paper 2 covers six areas: algebra, logarithmic and exponential functions, trigonometry, differentiation, integration, and numerical solution of equations.

Paper 3 covers those same six areas and then adds three more: vectors, differential equations, and complex numbers. So Paper 3 is Paper 2 with three substantial additions, and that is what the extra A Level year buys.

Paper 1, the other compulsory paper, covers eight areas: quadratics, functions, coordinate geometry, circular measure, trigonometry, series, differentiation and integration.

Mechanics at Paper 4 covers five areas: forces and equilibrium, kinematics of motion in a straight line, momentum, Newton's laws of motion, and energy, work and power.

Probability and Statistics 1 at Paper 5 covers five areas: representation of data, permutations and combinations, probability, discrete random variables, and the normal distribution.

Probability and Statistics 2 at Paper 6 covers five areas: the Poisson distribution, linear combinations of random variables, continuous random variables, sampling and estimation, and hypothesis tests.

So the statistics split is clean and sequential. Paper 5 gives the normal distribution and discrete random variables. Paper 6 takes that forward into the Poisson distribution, continuous variables, and then the whole machinery of inference.

There are only two assessment objectives in this qualification, which is unusual. AO1 is knowledge and understanding: showing understanding of mathematical concepts, terminology and notation, and recalling accurately and using appropriate manipulative techniques.

AO2 is application and communication: recognising the appropriate mathematical procedure for a given situation, applying combinations of skills to solve problems, and presenting the work and communicating the conclusions clearly and logically.

At AS Level the split is AO1 at 55 per cent and AO2 at 45 per cent. At A Level it is AO1 at 52 per cent and AO2 at 48 per cent. So the second year rewards application and clear presentation a little more than the first.

Per paper the pattern is almost uniform. Papers 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 are all 55 per cent AO1 and 45 per cent AO2.

Paper 3 is the exception. It is 45 per cent AO1 and 55 per cent AO2, making it the only paper in the qualification where application and communication outweigh recall and technique. That is not an accident: vectors, differential equations and complex numbers are examined by being used, not recited.

The accuracy rules are set out explicitly. Candidates should give non exact numerical answers correct to three significant figures, or one decimal place for angles in degrees, unless the question specifies otherwise. To earn accuracy marks, candidates should avoid rounding figures until they have the final answer.

The calculator rules are tighter than most students expect. Candidates are expected to have a ruler and a scientific calculator. Computers, graphical calculators, and calculators capable of symbolic algebraic manipulation or symbolic differentiation or integration are not permitted.

A list of formulae and statistical tables, MF19, is supplied in the examinations. One detail about it matters: MF19 is a combined formulae list for this syllabus and for Further Mathematics. Some formulae in it belong only to Further Mathematics, and are placed in separate sections labelled Further Pure Mathematics, Further Mechanics and Further Probability and Statistics.

So a student should know which parts of the formula booklet are theirs and which are not. Reaching for a Further Mathematics formula in an ordinary 9709 question will not earn marks and usually signals a misread question.

The syllabus also states that candidates are expected to show all necessary working, and that no marks will be given for unsupported answers from a calculator. Method marks are the majority of most mark schemes.

A protractor and a pair of compasses are not required.

There are three routes in total. Route 1 is AS Level only, taking the AS components in the same series. Route 2 is the A Level staged over two years. Route 3 is the A Level with all components in the same series.

On the staged route candidates carry forward their AS Level result rather than a grade, subject to the rules and time limits described in the Cambridge Handbook.

The qualification is graded A* to E for an A Level candidate. The lower case a to e scale belongs to the AS Level route only.

This page is written for Year 13 students completing the A Level.