1. Mathematics at Cambridge
Dr Chris Warner
College Teaching Officer and Director of Studies in Mathematics
Aspiration and Challenge Consultant
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

2. The Mathematics Tripos
One of the most rewarding (and most demanding) undergraduate mathematics courses in Britain
We are looking for applicants who have outstanding academic potential and will thrive at Cambridge
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

3. What does it take? A lively interest in mathematics
Mathematics education to at least AS Further Mathematics
Good organisational skills
Tenacity and drive for excellence
The potential for high achievement
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

4. Maths Courses at Cambridge
First year
Largely compulsory courses including:
rigorous mathematical analysis
mathematical methods such as vector calculus
Newtonian dynamics and special relativity
probability and number theory
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

5. Maths Courses at Cambridge
Second year
Core curriculum and more choice of courses:
algebra
analysis
mathematical methods
theoretical physics
statistics
optimisation
computational projects
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

6. Maths Courses at Cambridge
Third year
many choices with guidance from Director of Studies
most students leave with BA
Fourth year
students with a First Class or equivalent performance may continue to MMath
pre research level courses
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

7. How mathematics is taught at Cambridge
“Intense”
Lectures are few in number
each course takes around 24 hours
first year mathematics examination material is covered in 192 lectures
Supervisions cover about 6 lectures of work in one hour
There are 20 weeks of lectures in the first two years
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

8. How Mathematics is Taught at Cambridge
Lectures
no real opportunity to ask questions
little participation from students
Sets of questions to try for each course
called “examples sheets”
set at the rate of about one for every 5—7 lectures
no solutions given
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

9. Lectures
Cover material so fast that it is rarely possible to fully understand it during the lecture
there is a need to work on the lectured information later
there is a need to concentrate hard so that as much is understood as possible at the time
some parts of the course only become really clear on later revision
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

10. How Mathematics is Taught at Cambridge
Supervisions
based on the examples sheets
two students in most cases
one hour in duration
each course has its own specialist supervisors (teachers)
supervisor is a Professor, Lecturer, Postdoctoral Student or Postgraduate
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

11. Nature of Mathematics Courses at Cambridge
Different from A level / IB in that
we only do things once
the pure courses are much more rigorous
the language of mathematics is much more compact
we cover a lot of topics very quickly
there are lots of totally new mathematical topics
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

12. A typical week for a First Year Mathematics Student
minutes
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
9:00
10:00
L: VC
L: A
11:00
L: P
L: DR
12:00
14:00
Review
15:00
16:00
Prepare
VC/DR
Super
VC/DR Super
Analysis Super
S:VC/DR
Analysis
17:00
18:00
S:P
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

13. How Mathematics is Examined at Cambridge
Four examination papers at the end of each year of study
alpha quality mark for a mark of 15/20 or more on a long question
beta quality mark for a mark between 10/20 and 14/20, inclusive on a long question 7/10 or more on a short question
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

14. How Mathematics is Examined at Cambridge
First year examinations
one pure and one applied course in each paper
Second and third year examinations
at most one long question and one short question in each paper
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

15. How Mathematics is Examined at Cambridge
Merit marks
𝑀=30𝛼+5𝛽+𝑚−120 for 𝛼≥8
𝑀=15𝛼+5𝛽+𝑚 for 𝛼≤8
where 𝛼 is the number of alpha marks, 𝛽 is the number of beta marks and 𝑚 is the number of raw marks
these are used to determine degree class in examinations
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

16. Why are examination structure and Merit marks relevant?
examinations reward largely correct answers
students need to be good at working quickly and accurately
students need to be outstanding at their favourite courses
students do not need to reach a high standard in their least favourite courses
students can attend courses and do not need to take exam questions in them
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

17. Why are examination structure and Merit marks relevant?
students can attempt questions on courses that they have not formally studied
spreading yourself thinly over many courses is not a good strategy
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

18. Admissions process
Varies a little from College to College but Robinson is fairly typical and you get:
A College mathematics test of 1 hour
Two subject interviews and two subject interviewers
Some general or tutorial questions in one interview
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

19. So, how to prepare? Work on independent learning
ability to learn from a textbook or other resource
willingness to struggle with a problem for some time before seeking help
ability to write the language of mathematics
grammar
structure
tidiness!
strength of character to struggle with a problem before referring to examiner’s solution
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

20. So, how to prepare? Develop problem solving skills
ability to do problems without “scaffolding”
Teachers can really help here by stripping out “scaffolding” or sourcing questions from old A level texts which tend to have less structured questions
looking for similar problems in a text book
writing down thoughts that express the reasons for not being able to go further
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

21. So, how to prepare? Develop problem solving skills
willingness to try later, sometimes several times
seeking help e.g. from a friend for suggestions, not solutions
checking to make sure of understanding – particularly important when a similar problem is used as a “template”
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

22. So, how to prepare? Learn how to work quickly and accurately
try doing examinations in half the time
try doing sets of problems very quickly
… and still get the correct answer
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

23. So, how to prepare? Especially for interviews:
practise skills until very fluent with their use
e.g. can do integration by parts fast and accurately
try solving physics problems using calculus e.g. SUVAT equations, forces and energy
practise graph plotting including turning points
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and

24. Offers
Vary a little from College to College but Robinson is fairly typical:
Standard offer is A*A*A and STEP 1,1 or 1,2 in papers II and III
A-level Further maths needed
STEP is sat in schools in the summer (usually) after A levels
Robinson College
Dr Chris Warner and