Let’s quickly look at the Mathematics exams’ difficulty in Kings Scholarship (Eton College). I will break down the key topics for you. There are two papers, A and B. On the face of it, Maths A looks at the fundamental understanding of numbers and generic Mathematics. So this post will be focused on Maths B.

Maths B is interesting; each question introduces a concept or logic and is applied to the next parts of that question. Each question is full of clues and a combination of different Mathematical fundamentals. The paper lasts 90 minutes and contains 8 questions. So 11 minutes per question is quite intense given the range and difficulty of each question.

The concepts in the 2021 Maths B (can be downloaded on Eton’s website) are: the difference between two squares and investigate two factors of each number (Q1). Algebra and simultaneous equations (Q2). Quadratic equations and square roots (Q3). Comprehension and algebra and ratios (Q4). Sequence and Boolean algebra / Permutation and Combinations (Q5). Logical argument (Q6). Pythagoras’s Theorem combined with properties of shapes (Q7). Probabilities and Combinations (Q8)

The style of the paper is that for each question, some information and logic are gathered from a, and applied to b, and applied to c. Basically master all the topics above then you are likely to be able to complete the Mathematics B competitively.

In conclusion, the Math B is challenging to prepare, perhaps it is the paper to distinguish those who have truly mastered the topics highlighted.