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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 13h

What resources are put there for Pearson Statistics A-Level? Is there a decent textbook? Has anyone implemented it at their school, if so how is it goingl? #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Looking forward to the last three questions which will have a three digit answer instead of being multiple-choice (000-999 is essentially not multiple choice 😂) #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

So glad this is happening 😍

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Please hit like on this post if you had an X account for teaching purposes and deleted it. (I wanted to do a poll.) #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Another early question for new Year 12 FM pupils. This one is intended to show them that mathematics (at A-Level) doesn't really have 'hard' topics, we can make it all 'hard'! #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Why would I ask my new Year 12 pupils to solve the below in our first lesson of the academic year? #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

I played Scrabble with my Mum yesterday and just thought of an interesting additional rule. If you play a word that is palindromic, then you get a double word bonus. What do people think? How many palindromes are there in the English language? #MathsToday #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Statement (not opinion): Statistics at A-Level is too procedural and thus a waste of time for many pupils. Do you agree or disagree with this statement? Please elaborate on your choice. #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Found the answer in the enhanced content guidance document! qualifications.pearson.com/content/dam/... #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Do Pearson define quartiles for the A-Level? There are several different ways to calculate them and all I can find is something in a textbook but not the specification itself. It seems Pearson differ from GCSE to A-Level if you go by textbooks alone. #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

People said I was crazy! Why was this all so hush hush? Pure Paper 2 2025 was awful, it looked like a carbon copy of Pure Paper 1. On top of that Pure Paper 1 was a carbon copy of a paper from 2022. They will never learn, this happened with IGCSE too. Unbelievably poor paper setting procedures.

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

If you would like the Advanced Extension Award (AEA) 2026 for your Year 12s to enjoy, let me know! (Two applied questions for the first time.) #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

Despite the heat, I really enjoyed marking this. It's always great to see what our young budding mathematicians can create under pressure! @ukmathstrust.bsky.social #MathsToday #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Pearson Pure Paper 1 was a great paper. It had very easy questions at the start and ramped nicely. We need to move away from over 50% of candidates thinking they should score over 80% of the marks. For once, Pearson don't deserve the flak they are getting. #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

New wedding ring is awesome! 😍

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

I've bought myself a new wedding ring because I struggle wearing jewellery. I thought if it was a bit more exciting, I may find it easier to wear!

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Not maths but I'd appreciate input from my mathematical friends. What do you do when life is tough, what brings you out of a period low mood (or at least helps you manage it)? #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

Great to see @jamesmunromaths.bsky.social and @oxfordmathematics.bsky.social offering TMUA prepartion sessions. Private tuition can make a big difference with these tests and anything to help level the playing fields is welcome. #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Today's tricky integral is a beast... Integrate sqrt(tan(x)). Easier if you have knowledge of complex numbers but at this stage my class don't, so that's the real challenge! #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

I've said it before, if I wasn't tied to Devon I'm certain I'd love working with @sxpmaths.bsky.social #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Does anyone please have a stash of Complex Number Geometry problems (likely involving roots of unity) they can share with me? Unusually, Madas has none and I've exhausted recent past paper questions. STEP 3 has some but they are too hard for what I want! #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

@oxfordmathematics.bsky.social Any specific details about why MAT has been scrapped? I really worry that TMUA is much more variable will be a less good predictor of who could succeed at @ox.ac.uk (it's a speed test). Will you be interviewing more pupils in future? #MathsToday #AlevelMaths

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

I just spotted something that I've not highlighted to pupils before. If you derive the derivative (hehe) of arcsin(x), you can expand it and integrate to get a power series for arcsin(x). I know it relies on the Maclaurin series of (1+x)^n but feel it's nice nonetheless! #MathsToday #AlevelMaths

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Very pleased Seth chose the Pi cutters for cake Tuesday! #MathsToday

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Really pleased to learn that two students I was helping prepare for @ox.ac.uk @oxfordmathematics.bsky.social have received offers today! 😍 #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

Cake Tuesday in the Maths office. Food supplied by my six-year-old Seth 😍

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Some 'Christmas' problem solving with buzzers bought on my PGCE (they come out once a year so should last a lifetime) and making use of the fabulous @ukmathstrust.bsky.social Team Challenges #MathsToday #AlevelMaths #UKMathsChat

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 19/09/2025

That time of year again... Please share the below booklet with any pupils thinking of studying maths at universities that use interviews as part of the admissions process. www.drfrost.org/downloadable... #MathsToday #AlevelMaths

drfrost.org

Dr Frost Learning

Dr Frost provides an online learning platform, teaching resources, videos and a bank of exam questions, all for free.

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

Year 13 FM using the key properties of determinants to derive the 2x2 case (and think about how that scales to 3x3 case). This was always planned to follow yesterday's breakdown of Leibniz formula! #MathsToday #AlevelMaths

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

This has had some very strong reactions. Interesting how people haven't stopped to consider, or ask, the context in which this was delivered. #MathsToday #AlevelMaths

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Year 13 FM unpacked the following Determinant definition today. I didn't display the 3x3 case at first! #MathsToday #AlevelMaths

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Tom Bowler @ridermeister.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Back to being in the prime of my life 😁 #MathsToday

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