Year 12 and Year 13
Edunest finds each A Level Maths student in Qatar a tutor fluent in their exact route: Cambridge International 9709 or Pearson Edexcel International A Level. Every lesson is a live video session between the student and that one tutor, planned around the school week, starting from the papers ahead and the pure mathematics beneath them.
For sixth-form students (Year 12 and 13) in Qatar's British-curriculum schools, from first AS topics to final A Level papers.
What we cover
Both boards share one pure core, then add mechanics, statistics or Edexcel's decision mathematics. Each module notes where marks tend to slip.
Quadratics, inequalities, composite and inverse functions, graph transformations and circles. Marks go when an inverse is given without its domain, or transformations are applied in the wrong order.
Completing the square · Inverse functions · Circles and tangents
Radians, arcs and sectors, identities, equations over an interval, then sec, cosec, cot, double angles and the R cos(θ − α) form. A missing solution in the interval is the classic loss.
Arithmetic and geometric progressions, the sum to infinity, and binomial expansions for positive whole-number powers, then for rational powers with their range of validity.
Sum to infinity · Binomial series · Range of validity
Stationary points, the chain rule with the product and quotient rules, implicit and parametric curves, substitution, integration by parts, partial fractions, areas and volumes of revolution. Choosing the technique is the real skill.
Stationary points · Integration by parts · Volumes of revolution
Laws of logarithms, exponential growth and decay, straight-line forms of curves, locating roots, iteration and the trapezium rule, including whether an estimate is too large or too small.
Lines in three dimensions, the scalar product, separable differential equations, and complex numbers on an Argand diagram for Cambridge Paper 3. Forming an equation from words is where most hesitate.
Vector equation of a line · Separable differential equations · Argand diagrams
Forces, friction, Newton's laws for connected particles, straight-line motion, momentum, and work, energy and power, with moments in Edexcel M1. A clear force diagram settles most marks before any algebra.
Resolving forces · Connected particles · Work and energy
Data, probability, permutations and combinations, binomial and normal distributions, then Poisson, sampling and hypothesis tests; Edexcel S1 adds correlation and regression. Conclusions must use the question's context.
Normal distribution · Poisson distribution · Hypothesis tests
How lessons run
Every lesson has a fixed purpose, agreed in advance and tied to the next exam series.
The first lesson settles the facts: Cambridge or Edexcel, AS or full A Level, mechanics or statistics, and the series ahead. A short algebra and functions diagnostic shows which foundations need work first.
From the exam date, the tutor lays out the topics month by month, around school tests and holidays. Lessons slot into the evenings of a Sunday-to-Thursday school week or into Friday and Saturday, on Qatar time (UTC+3).
Topics are taught from first principles, then practised on questions in the board's style. Solutions show every step the way an examiner reads them, since Cambridge gives no marks for unsupported calculator answers.
Nearer the exam, the student sits past papers at real timings: 1 hour 50 minutes or 1 hour 15 minutes for Cambridge, 1 hour 30 minutes per Edexcel unit, logging every mistake.
After lessons, a short note tells parents which topics were worked on, which feel solid and which come next. Parents may join any session, and the family picks Google Meet, Microsoft Teams or Zoom.
In Ramadan, lesson times follow that year's official announcement.
The exam
Cambridge sets six papers of two lengths; Edexcel sets equal units. Every figure below comes from the boards' own specifications.
Exam board
Cambridge International AS & A Level Mathematics · 9709
AS takes two papers, A Level four. Paper 1 is compulsory on every route.
Exam board
Pearson Edexcel International A Level Mathematics · XMA01 (IAS), YMA01 (IAL)
IAS takes P1, P2 and one applied unit; IAL takes P1 to P4 and one permitted applied pair.
10 to 12 structured questions, the foundation for every other paper.
How a tutor helps
A tutor secures this paper's algebra, functions and calculus early, because Papers 2 to 6 assume all of it.
6 to 8 questions on logarithms, trigonometry, calculus and numerical methods.
How a tutor helps
Its content largely sits inside Paper 3. A tutor teaches it fully and makes clear this route cannot carry forward to A Level.
9 to 11 questions, including vectors, differential equations and complex numbers.
How a tutor helps
The most demanding pure paper. A tutor spreads it across the A Level year and keeps revisiting the Paper 1 skills it reuses.
6 to 8 questions on forces, motion, momentum, energy and power.
How a tutor helps
A tutor insists on a labelled force diagram before any equation, which removes most sign errors in resolving forces.
6 to 8 questions on data, probability, counting methods and the normal distribution.
How a tutor helps
A tutor teaches the student to list cases and name the distribution and its parameters before calculating.
6 to 8 questions on the Poisson distribution, sampling, estimation and hypothesis tests.
How a tutor helps
It assumes Paper 5 and cannot be paired with Paper 4. A tutor rehearses test wording, Type I and Type II errors and confidence intervals.
Algebra, coordinate geometry, trigonometry, series, logarithms, proof and calculus.
How a tutor helps
P2 introduces proof by exhaustion and disproof by counter-example. A tutor shows how to lay out a short proof so every step is visible.
Functions, trigonometry, numerical methods, partial fractions, parametric calculus and vectors.
How a tutor helps
For an IAL A*, Pearson wants an overall A and at least 180 of the 200 uniform marks across P3 and P4, so these units get extra time.
IAL pairs: M1 and S1, M1 and D1, M1 and M2, S1 and D1, or S1 and S2.
How a tutor helps
The school chooses the pair. A tutor teaches it with that unit's past papers, noting that D1 sits only in January and June.
Schools in Qatar sit 9709 in June or in November; Cambridge's March sitting serves India alone. Pearson runs most IAL Maths units three times a year: January, June and October.
Cambridge reports AS results as a, b, c, d or e, and the A Level from A* down to E. Pearson's IAS scale runs A to E; its IAL scale adds A* on top, and each unit scores up to 100 uniform marks.
What we look for in a tutor
Subject depth to show why each method holds, and to meet the deeper question behind a student's query.
Working knowledge of the 9709 papers or Edexcel units, their formula booklets and the routes each board permits.
Experience with past papers and published mark schemes, so feedback matches how method and accuracy marks are awarded.
Explanations built from what the student already knows, with correct notation and the English wording used on papers.
Safeguarding standards for teaching under-18s online, with parents welcome to observe lessons.
Regular, plain communication: short progress notes, and early word when a topic needs more time.
Common difficulties
Why it happens
Expanding, factorising and fractions are not yet automatic, so errors creep into later work.
How a tutor helps
Short manipulation warm-ups open each lesson, and the tutor tracks the student's recurring slips until they vanish from timed work.
Why it happens
Working is skipped, values are rounded early, or a calculator answer stands alone.
How a tutor helps
The tutor models full solutions, keeps exact values to the final line and marks practice against published mark schemes, showing where marks sit.
Why it happens
Substitution, parts and partial fractions look alike under pressure.
How a tutor helps
The tutor teaches the cues for each method, then mixes integrals of every type in one set, so the student practises deciding first.
Why it happens
Forces are resolved the wrong way, or friction and tension go missing.
How a tutor helps
Every problem starts with a large labelled diagram and a stated positive direction, and the student names each force aloud before writing an equation.
Why it happens
A hypothesis test ends with a number and no statement about the situation described.
How a tutor helps
The tutor drills a fixed order: hypotheses, significance level, result, then a conclusion in the question's words, for one-tailed and two-tailed tests.
Questions learners and parents ask
Share the board, the year group and the papers still to come. We answer each enquiry personally, with a proposed tutor.