Is General maths 1/2 needed for Further 3/4?

[amorphous]

My school doesn't allow us to take Further 3/4 without having done General maths 1/2, so I really want to know if General Maths is really that important to Further?

[zofromuxo]

It isn't like super duper important. But it certainly helps to do 1/2 going into 3/4 as most of the stuff done in 3/4 builds off the fundamentals laid in 1/2 like the core of 3/4.

[MightyBeh]

Honestly you probably don't need it. I did further without general and I did fine - if you've got a decent background in maths and/or you just put the work in, the content should be reasonably easy to understand and apply. That being said, general maths is there for a reason and definitely offers a strong foundation for further maths, so your school isn't wrong for recommending it. My advice would be to take the 1/2 unless you're doing methods or specialist already, but even then the content is pretty different and it would still be a good idea.

[TheInfamousJimsRightHandMan]

There's been quite a few cases at my school where students have chosen to accelerate into Further Mathematics and do it in year 11, completely skipping General Mathematics. I think, as long as you show a capacity to learn, you'll be fine. I've been doing Further Maths this year, alongside Methods, and I've done fine, despite not previously doing General Mathematics.
However, I don't think that doing Further Maths is allowed at our school without doing some form of maths the previous year